Amnesty urges former England captain to speak out on Qatar human rights record ahead of the 2022 World Cup

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Former England captain David Beckham has been urged to speak about over Qatar’s human rights record by human rights group Amnesty International.

Beckham, a former footballer for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, reportedly signed a lucrative deal to become an ambassador for the 2022 World Cup being held in Qatar.

Via BBC Sport, Amnesty’s Sacha Deshmukh said: “Qatar’s human rights record is troubling, from the country’s longstanding mistreatment of migrant workers, to its curbs on free speech and the criminalisation of same-sex relations.

“It’s not surprising that David Beckham wants to be involved in such a major football event, but we would urge him to learn about the deeply concerning human rights situation in Qatar and be prepared to speak out about it.”

Since it was announced in 2010 that Qatar would be given the rights to host the 2022 World Cup, the country’s human rights record has come under intense scrutiny, with Amnesty claiming that thousands of missing migrant worker cases have not been properly investigated, along with other claims about the mistreatment of migrant workers brought over to help construct the stadiums needed for the World Cup.

A spokesperson for Beckham told the BBC that he had seen the passion that Qatar has for the game of football through playing for the Qatar-owned PSG and through visiting the country frequently for the past decade. They added that the 46-year-old believed the World Cup would be a force for good in the region.

Beckham had an extremely successful football career, winning 21 trophies across in his time in England, Spain, France and the USA.

His senior career spanned 20 years, going from 1993 to 2013, making 718 appearances for his various club sides, scoring 127 times and assisting 207 times.

Until 2018 he also held the record as the most capped England outfield player with 115 caps for his country.

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