The international organization Amnesty International today invited the former captain of the England football team, David Beckham, to talk about the "deeply worrying" human rights situation in Qatar, the host of the 2022 World Cup.
Beckham has signed a lucrative deal to become an ambassador for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Since Qatar was chosen as the host of the World Cup in 2010, questions have been constantly raised about respect for human rights in that country.
"The state of human rights in Qatar is worrisome, from the long-term mistreatment of migrant workers to the restriction of freedom of speech and the criminalization of same-sex relationships," Amnesty's interim executive director Saša Deshmukh said, the BBC reported.
"It is not surprising that David Beckham wants to be part of such a big competition, but we would urge him to be aware of the deeply worrying situation in Qatar and be prepared to talk about it," he added.
Amnesty recently stated that thousands of migrant workers have died during the construction of infrastructure for the World Cup in recent years and that their deaths have not been properly investigated.
Beckham's spokesman told the BBC that the former footballer "always talked about the power of football as a good thing on many levels".
"David has been visiting Qatar for over a decade and played for Paris Saint-Germain (whose owners are from Qatar), so he has seen the passion for football in that country, the long-term commitment to hosting the World Cup and providing a lasting legacy for the region," he said.
"As we approach the start of the championship, he will join the wider football community gathering for the 2022 World Cup and looking forward to what he thinks will be a great tournament," he added.
Norwegian and German football players recently wore shirts in support of the wounded migrants in Qatar before the matches in the World Cup qualifiers. They put on black T-shirts, and each one had one letter written on it, which at the end formed the message "Human Rights".
A source close to Beckham said the former footballer believes the first World Cup held in a predominantly Muslim country will be important for the region and inspire positive change.
The World Cup will be held from November 21 to December 18 in Qatar.
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