FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said migrant workers could gain 'pride' from hard work when questioned about reported abuse in Qatar during construction of infrastructure ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
Despite the alleged abuses, Mr Infantino claimed workers would feel proud at being given the chance to construct stadiums for the tournament, earning a living rather than being given charity.
Last year, it was reported that 6,500 workers had died in Qatar since it won the hosting rights.
The comments came after Mr Infantino was asked at the global conference of the Milken Institute in Los Angeles if FIFA would use its profits to make "any sort of commitment" to help families of workers who died in Qatar.
Mr Infantino did not directly answer the question when responding to MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle on stage, instead pointing to the introduction of a minimum wage and enhanced labour rights.
"Let's not forget one thing ... when we speak about this topic, which is work, even hard work, tough work," Mr Infantino said.
"America is a country of immigration. My parents immigrated as well from Italy to Switzerland. Not so far, but still.”
"When you give work to somebody, even in hard conditions, you give him dignity and pride. It's not charity. You don't make charity.”
Mr Infantino did not directly dispute the claim that 6,500 workers have died building infrastructure - which was denied by Qatar - but said three people have died on the construction sites of the stadiums.
"Now 6,000 might have died in other works and so on, and of course FIFA is not the police of the world or responsible for everything that happens around the world,” he said.
“But thanks to FIFA, thanks to football we have been able to address the status of all the 1.5 million workers, working in Qatar."
Construction workers, mostly men from southwest Asia, live with multiple people in the same bedrooms in Qatar, while their families remain in their home countries.
The tournament has faced various forms of controversy since announcing Qatar as host, with organisations such as Human Rights Watch expressing ongoing concern over the country's treatment of migrant workers.
