Ahead of next month’s soccer World Cup in Qatar, Australia’s national team has issued a strong statement protesting against the host nation’s human rights record. The black-and-white video shows players calling for reforms and “basic rights that should be afforded to all”. The selection of Qatar by the sport’s governing body FIFA has been controversial from the start over allegations of poor labour practices, the treatment of women (particularly after an incident in 2021 when hundreds of female travellers were subject to invasive body searches) and gay rights. Openly gay Aussie footballer Josh Cavallo says the event shouldn’t be happening and criticised English great David Beckham for being an ambassador. Other teams are also planning protests, including Denmark, which has made an all-black playing shirt to honour workers who died during construction.