Dutch soccer team protest conditions of Qatar's migrant workers

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Players from the Netherlands national soccer team wore T-shirts displaying the words 'Football supports change' before their match with Latvia on Saturday. /AP

The Netherlands national soccer team wore T-shirts displaying the words "Football supports change" on Saturday in a statement about human rights in World Cup host nation Qatar.

The Dutch team followed Germany and Norway's national squads in showing their support for the human rights of migrant workers helping to build infrastructure for the tournament set to take place in 2022.

Defender Matthijs de Ligt said ahead of their European Championship qualifying match against Latvia on Saturday that he and the rest of the Dutch team wanted to make a statement, saying "it's a very difficult situation with workers' rights there."

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The Al Bayt stadium in the northern city of Al Khor is one of eight stadiums set to host the competition in 2022. /Reuters

Qatar, which won the World Cup hosting vote more than 10 years ago, has come under scrutiny over laws and conditions of workers.

Last week, Gianni Infantino, the president of the sport's global governing body FIFA, said that Qatar had made social progress because of becoming the tournament host.

Eight stadiums are set to host the 32-team global competition, with the infrastructure being built by several different construction firms – some of which are local, while others are sub-contracted out to Western companies.

Norway and Germany had previously showed their support for human rights of migrant workers working in Qatar. /AP

Norway and Germany first to take a stance

Norway's players wore shirts that said "HUMAN RIGHTS" and "Respect on and off the pitch" before their game against Gibraltar last Wednesday.

Germany then followed suit as the starting squad lined up in black shirts, each with one letter to spell out "HUMAN RIGHTS" before its match on Thursday. German midfielder Leon Goretzka told media that the players had decided to make the statement following Norway's lead.

Before Norway's subesquent game against Turkey on Saturday, the team decided to go one further. Its players took off jackets for the national anthem to reveal T-shirts bearing the same message as on Wednesday, but this time calling on more teams to join forces with them. The shirts also bore the names of Norway and Germany with ticks beside them and the question "Next?"

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