FIFA VP Prince Ali bin al Hussein "has added his voice to those who believe the issue of workers' rights in Qatar has become far more crucial than whether the 2022 World Cup is played in winter or summer," according to Andrew Warshaw of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. Prince Ali said that Qatar "had to be given a fair chance to prove it can implement the measures it promises will be put in place in order to ease the plight of migrant workers." Prince Ali: "It is the crucial issue and has to be dealt with as soon as possible. If they set their minds to it they can do it." Without mentioning the specific and "high-publicized cases" of footballers Zahir Belounis and Abdeslam Ouaddou, who were victims of Qatar's notorious kafala employment system and were only allowed to leave the country following intense int'l pressure, the Jordanian prince said that "Qatar was more than capable of changing its ways." Prince Ali: "From what I've seen, they have the ability to change if they put their minds to it. We need to just encourage them and not judge them too fast" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 2/24).
