Red Card for Qatar Pays Tribute to Workers Who Lost Their Lives in Lead-up to World Cup Semi-Final

Dec. 13, 2022

On February 21, 2021, the British newspaper The Guardian published an investigation estimating that more than 6,500* migrant workers died in Qatar since the country was awarded the World Cup. Since then, this figure has circulated at least 400,000 times on Twitter alone. 

So while the excitement over the French national team’s journey to victory doesn’t let us forget what happened off the pitch and the thousands unaccounted for, the association "Red Card for Qatar" and FCINQ are launching "Jersey of Memory", an activation taking place on social media and across France to pay homage to those lost.   

The idea is simple: While fans around the world are wearing their favorite player’s number, black jerseys have been created with the names of those that went missing. 

Artists, athletes, journalists, public figures, football influencers, and many others, were given the jerseys to post about across their social networks. 

Beyond the internet, the jerseys have also been worn at several events: a football match with the LGBTQ+ team Les Degommeuses, Climate Academy, and an event at eco-café and pub la Cité Fertile. 

In parallel, the association created a website jerseyformemory.com devoted to the cause: 

Internet users can, via the site, share images of the jerseys and personalize pre-written messages on their own social networks. 

This site also lists all the counter-events organized by the association "Red Card for Qatar" through the end of the World Cup.