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FIFA wins legal case over picking Qatar as World Cup host

Associated Press
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FILE - In this file photo dated Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, Flags of the union UNIA are reflected in the FIFA logo during a demonstration in front of the FIFA headquarters against the working conditions for the soccer World Cup 2022 in Qatar. FIFA has defeated a legal challenge by trade union groups on Friday Jan 6, 2017, at a Zurich Commercial Court over picking Qatar as 2022 World Cup host and failing to ensure reforms to labor laws. (AP Photo/Keystone, FILE, Steffen Schmidt) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this file photo taken Monday, May 4, 2015, during a government organized media tour, workers walk back to the Al-Wakra Stadium worksite being built for the 2022 World Cup, in Doha, Qatar. FIFA has defeated a legal challenge by trade union groups on Friday Jan 6, 2017, at a Zurich Commercial Court over picking Qatar as 2022 World Cup host and failing to ensure reforms to labor laws. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File) (The Associated Press)

FIFA has defeated a legal challenge by trade union groups over picking Qatar as the 2022 World Cup host.

FIFA says the Commercial Court in Zurich rejected a case filed by labor activists in the Netherlands and Bangladesh on behalf of a Bangladeshi construction worker employed on a World Cup project.

The case claimed FIFA acted wrongfully in choosing Qatar without demanding reform of labor laws, and should be held liable for abuses.

Labor and human rights groups have campaigned against a system for employing hundreds of thousands of migrant workers in the gas-rich emirate.

FIFA says it "welcomes the decision" of the courts, and "will continue to urge the Qatari authorities to ensure safe and decent working conditions for construction workers."