The World Cup has always been one of the major events that everyone in the globe look forward to, as it is always filled with excitement, instant-classic matches and legendary displays from outstanding footballers. Nonetheless, such a huge tournament can never be held without any controversies, and for the World Cup, the human rights record of its host nation is often questioned by many.
Hummel, the kit manufacturer of the Danish football team recently released a third kit option that is themed in black and posted a picture of it with the caption “The colour of mourning” on Instagram, sparking spectators to contemplate on the inspiration behind the production.
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Hummel has stressed that while they fully support the Danish football team, led by a rejuvenated Christian Eriksen, in its quest of creating history in the FIFA World Cup 2022, they are also determined to question the host nation’s human rights history as many have died during the constructions of infrastructure set up to accommodate the needs of the World Cup.
The popular manufacturer in Denmark has toned down the details of the Danish football team jerseys as a way to voice out its opinion against the management of Qatar, as they believe being part of the beautiful history of football is an honour but doing it at the expense of human lives is not the right way. The three jersey options released by Hummel are in all-red, all-white and all-black with no highly-visible words or symbols.
Qatar, known for its enormous gas production, has been fiercely condemned for its exploitation of migrant workers, especially from South Asia, on its need to build billions’ worth of football stadiums, facilities and related infrastructures for the celebrated event. The number of deaths and injuries is never transparent, and the data released by the Qatar authorities cannot reflect the actual situation either.
The world no. 10 team was a semi-finalist in last year’s UEFA European Football Championship and is amongst the leading teams to criticise the host nation on its management of workers. The Danish football team would look forward to wearing their third kit in two of their three Group D fixtures against France and Australia as they are only required to wear their first option for its opening game against Tunisia as the home team.
