Joao and Ouaddou

[Southcoastffc]

2 full page articles in today's Times, one about Joao and the other about Ouaddou's experience in Qatar. Unfortunately I can't post them,  I read the physical newspaper, but Abdesalam's piece is especially worthwhile.  A quiet, insightful, intelligent man, he relates some of the appalling treatment he faced in Qatar towards the end of his career.

[Somerset Fulham]

Full article on Jao is here:

https://archive.ph/wuhpf

Premier League signing of the season? Fulham's João Palhinha, a snip at just £17 million from Sporting in the summer, would certainly be right up there.

The Portugal midfielder's dynamic displays have been a revelation for Marco Silva's promoted side, who have confounded expectations and lie ninth in the table before the arrival of Manchester United on Sunday. No player in Europe's top five leagues has made more tackles this season.

Evidently that is a statistic Palhinha is proud of. "It's one of the things I like to know, because it's one of my best characteristics," Palhinha, who averages 4.3 tackles a game, says. "I'm always focused on this job. It's one of the things the coach expects of me, so I try to do my best to recover the ball.

Palhinha and his team-mate Andreas Pereira double up on Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne. The Portugal midfielder, right, says that he was "born with" the ability to recover the ball.

The Portugal midfielder, right, says that he was "born with" the ability to recover the ball "I think this characteristic was born with me. Even when I was younger, I had more anger [determination] to recover the ball. Sometimes it's more special for me to do a really good tackle in the first minutes than score a goal. Even more here, because the supporters in England like that."

Five bookings in his first six games led to a swift suspension, unfortunately, but Palhinha has since reined in his competitive instincts successfully enough to avoid the referee's notebook altogether. Tackles, not goals, are the 27-year-old's currency — "I leave the goals to Mitro," he jokes — but a header against Brentford and a fine strike against Nottingham Forest have helped to secure cult hero status at Craven Cottage where Palhinha's name — which in English means "straw" — is already being sung to the 1958 classic, Tequilla, by The Champs.

These have been a life-changing few months. First came the move in July from Lisbon, his home city, to London, where the "weather and traffic" have taken some getting used to, he smiles, but he is happy and settled.

When we meet at Fulham's Motspur Park training base, Palhinha, who is open and engaging company, is expecting a message to confirm his name in Fernando Santos's Portugal squad for the World Cup — which, a couple of hours later, duly arrives.

Two weeks ago, meanwhile, Palhinha and his wife, Patrícia, had their first child, named João, as generations of men in his family have. "It was an amazing feeling," says Palhinha, who returned to Lisbon for the birth after Fulham's 3-2 win against Leeds United. "The next game against Everton, I played, but I didn't sleep the three days before it. My baby and my wife will come [to London] after the World Cup. I miss them. But everything is well. This is part of my job."

Palhinha has always believed that he and the Premier League would be a good fit. He grew up dreaming of emulating compatriots like Chelsea's Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira, Luís Boa Morte — "a legend at Fulham", he says of Silva's assistant coach — and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo, whom Palhinha will join in Qatar once the pair have fought for three points on Sunday. Palhinha, like many, has been disturbed by reports of the deaths of thousands of migrant workers in Qatar

"I have good memories, when I was young, of seeing Ronaldo on TV playing here for the first time," Palhinha says. "The trophies [he won] and history he made here in England, in Spain, Italy, the world of football — it's amazing. To play against him this weekend, and share a dressing room with him, is a dream come true."

Does Ronaldo's standing, and the fact that this will be his final chance to lift the World Cup, increase the pressure on Portugal to win in Qatar? "No, we feel pressure because of all our talent," Palhinha says. "We know our quality. Most of our players play in the best teams in the world. This World Cup is not just about Cristiano; everyone wants to win, as a gift for our country. We have the talent. But we will fight for all of Portugal, not just one person."

Excitement at the prospect of playing in his first World Cup, he admits, has been tempered somewhat by the unprecedented timing and location of the tournament. "For me, it doesn't make sense," he says. "That the season will stop. The place we are playing. The weather. The human rights [record of Qatar]. Everything. "The people with power need to speak about this. At the moment, nobody speaks. I don't know why. But this is the same thing that happens in the world. This moment is about football, but this is about real life [the way the world works]. Money, unfortunately, controls everything. It's not good for the people, for the players, for everyone."

Palhinha, like many, has been disturbed by reports of the deaths of thousands of migrant workers in Qatar. "I'm not there, but I think it's true," he says. "It doesn't make sense. We need to put ourselves [in the shoes of others]. I can't change anything, but if people with power make other decisions, it will be different. "For me, it's [still] going to be special because it's a World Cup. But at the same time, we are going to be playing in a stadium some people died building. I think it's not the perfect World Cup we have dreamt of. I don't know if my team-mates share that opinion, but I think so."

Palhinha won the first of his 15 caps only 18 months ago. His path to the world's biggest stage has not been easy and he says he will always be grateful for the support of his father, João, a car dealer who, along with his younger brother, Gonçalo, now represents him.
Aged 11, Palhinha recalls being rejected by a number of academies. But, determined to work harder, "a year later I returned, and they accepted me," he says. At 15, he was rejected by Benfica after a trial. He worked harder still and, within a few months, had been offered a place at Sporting.

Then, in 2018, not long after Palhinha broke into the first team, he was abruptly sent to Braga on loan for two years. "My history is not easy," he says. "I had rejections sometimes, but I overcame those obstacles because of attitude, hard work, and the support of my
family.

Palinha says the pressure on the Portugal squad in Qatar is borne out of the squad's "talent", not Ronaldo's last attempt at World Cup glory Palinha says the pressure on the Portugal squad in Qatar is borne out of the squad's "talent", not Ronaldo's last attempt at World Cup glory "I gained experience in Braga. It was really important for me to play, to grow up. I knew if I did my job, showed my value, things would happen. I returned two years later, won a league, a super cup, made the national team. It's been a process."

Silva, he says, was a huge draw in the summer. "When I was in Sporting's B team, he was [first-team] manager, so he knows me, and he's one of the reasons I came here," he says. "He has helped me a lot, so I want to thank him on the pitch." Fulham have drawn with Liverpool, and lost by the narrowest of margins against Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. They welcome United without fear, knowing a win will take them to within one point of Erik ten Hag's team before the break.

"In football, the names are not important," Palhinha says. "Until now, I think we have shown that to our supporters. No one expected us to be where we are, but that shows the value of our work, our team." And Palhinha's value is rising. "I have ambitions, of course, but the first is to do good work and help my club, Fulham," he says. "The first objective, as every one knows, is to stay in the Premier League. We work every day for this. The next is to show my value, to grow, and I think I'm in the best place to do that."
"I just want to do my tackles," he adds with a smile, "and at the end of the season, hopefully I will still be top of the table."

[Southcoastffc]

Full article on Jao is here:

https://archive.ph/wuhpf

Premier League signing of the season? Fulham's João Palhinha, a snip at just £17 million from Sporting in the summer, would certainly be right up there.

The Portugal midfielder's dynamic displays have been a revelation for Marco Silva's promoted side, who have confounded expectations and lie ninth in the table before the arrival of Manchester United on Sunday. No player in Europe's top five leagues has made more tackles this season.

Evidently that is a statistic Palhinha is proud of. "It's one of the things I like to know, because it's one of my best characteristics," Palhinha, who averages 4.3 tackles a game, says. "I'm always focused on this job. It's one of the things the coach expects of me, so I try to do my best to recover the ball.

Palhinha and his team-mate Andreas Pereira double up on Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne. The Portugal midfielder, right, says that he was "born with" the ability to recover the ball.

The Portugal midfielder, right, says that he was "born with" the ability to recover the ball "I think this characteristic was born with me. Even when I was younger, I had more anger [determination] to recover the ball. Sometimes it's more special for me to do a really good tackle in the first minutes than score a goal. Even more here, because the supporters in England like that."

Five bookings in his first six games led to a swift suspension, unfortunately, but Palhinha has since reined in his competitive instincts successfully enough to avoid the referee's notebook altogether. Tackles, not goals, are the 27-year-old's currency — "I leave the goals to Mitro," he jokes — but a header against Brentford and a fine strike against Nottingham Forest have helped to secure cult hero status at Craven Cottage where Palhinha's name — which in English means "straw" — is already being sung to the 1958 classic, Tequilla, by The Champs.

These have been a life-changing few months. First came the move in July from Lisbon, his home city, to London, where the "weather and traffic" have taken some getting used to, he smiles, but he is happy and settled.

When we meet at Fulham's Motspur Park training base, Palhinha, who is open and engaging company, is expecting a message to confirm his name in Fernando Santos's Portugal squad for the World Cup — which, a couple of hours later, duly arrives.

Two weeks ago, meanwhile, Palhinha and his wife, Patrícia, had their first child, named João, as generations of men in his family have. "It was an amazing feeling," says Palhinha, who returned to Lisbon for the birth after Fulham's 3-2 win against Leeds United. "The next game against Everton, I played, but I didn't sleep the three days before it. My baby and my wife will come [to London] after the World Cup. I miss them. But everything is well. This is part of my job."

Palhinha has always believed that he and the Premier League would be a good fit. He grew up dreaming of emulating compatriots like Chelsea's Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira, Luís Boa Morte — "a legend at Fulham", he says of Silva's assistant coach — and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo, whom Palhinha will join in Qatar once the pair have fought for three points on Sunday. Palhinha, like many, has been disturbed by reports of the deaths of thousands of migrant workers in Qatar

"I have good memories, when I was young, of seeing Ronaldo on TV playing here for the first time," Palhinha says. "The trophies [he won] and history he made here in England, in Spain, Italy, the world of football — it's amazing. To play against him this weekend, and share a dressing room with him, is a dream come true."

Does Ronaldo's standing, and the fact that this will be his final chance to lift the World Cup, increase the pressure on Portugal to win in Qatar? "No, we feel pressure because of all our talent," Palhinha says. "We know our quality. Most of our players play in the best teams in the world. This World Cup is not just about Cristiano; everyone wants to win, as a gift for our country. We have the talent. But we will fight for all of Portugal, not just one person."

Excitement at the prospect of playing in his first World Cup, he admits, has been tempered somewhat by the unprecedented timing and location of the tournament. "For me, it doesn't make sense," he says. "That the season will stop. The place we are playing. The weather. The human rights [record of Qatar]. Everything. "The people with power need to speak about this. At the moment, nobody speaks. I don't know why. But this is the same thing that happens in the world. This moment is about football, but this is about real life [the way the world works]. Money, unfortunately, controls everything. It's not good for the people, for the players, for everyone."

Palhinha, like many, has been disturbed by reports of the deaths of thousands of migrant workers in Qatar. "I'm not there, but I think it's true," he says. "It doesn't make sense. We need to put ourselves [in the shoes of others]. I can't change anything, but if people with power make other decisions, it will be different. "For me, it's [still] going to be special because it's a World Cup. But at the same time, we are going to be playing in a stadium some people died building. I think it's not the perfect World Cup we have dreamt of. I don't know if my team-mates share that opinion, but I think so."

Palhinha won the first of his 15 caps only 18 months ago. His path to the world's biggest stage has not been easy and he says he will always be grateful for the support of his father, João, a car dealer who, along with his younger brother, Gonçalo, now represents him.
Aged 11, Palhinha recalls being rejected by a number of academies. But, determined to work harder, "a year later I returned, and they accepted me," he says. At 15, he was rejected by Benfica after a trial. He worked harder still and, within a few months, had been offered a place at Sporting.

Then, in 2018, not long after Palhinha broke into the first team, he was abruptly sent to Braga on loan for two years. "My history is not easy," he says. "I had rejections sometimes, but I overcame those obstacles because of attitude, hard work, and the support of my
family.

Palinha says the pressure on the Portugal squad in Qatar is borne out of the squad's "talent", not Ronaldo's last attempt at World Cup glory Palinha says the pressure on the Portugal squad in Qatar is borne out of the squad's "talent", not Ronaldo's last attempt at World Cup glory "I gained experience in Braga. It was really important for me to play, to grow up. I knew if I did my job, showed my value, things would happen. I returned two years later, won a league, a super cup, made the national team. It's been a process."

Silva, he says, was a huge draw in the summer. "When I was in Sporting's B team, he was [first-team] manager, so he knows me, and he's one of the reasons I came here," he says. "He has helped me a lot, so I want to thank him on the pitch." Fulham have drawn with Liverpool, and lost by the narrowest of margins against Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. They welcome United without fear, knowing a win will take them to within one point of Erik ten Hag's team before the break.

"In football, the names are not important," Palhinha says. "Until now, I think we have shown that to our supporters. No one expected us to be where we are, but that shows the value of our work, our team." And Palhinha's value is rising. "I have ambitions, of course, but the first is to do good work and help my club, Fulham," he says. "The first objective, as every one knows, is to stay in the Premier League. We work every day for this. The next is to show my value, to grow, and I think I'm in the best place to do that."
"I just want to do my tackles," he adds with a smile, "and at the end of the season, hopefully I will still be top of the table."

Thanks for posting that - any chance you can post the Ouaddou article too?  It's a bit of an eye opener.

[Somerset Fulham]

No worries!

I did try and find it but couldn't.  I'll have another look though because I want to read it.

Edit: I think I've found it but its taking a little while to cicumvent the paywall, will post it when it is done if I have the right article!

[Somerset Fulham]

It was the wrong one!  Its still a good read about the hosts of the WC though.

https://archive.ph/9q4i6

[Southcoastffc]

Thanks to Logicalman, here it is.

Qatar treated me like a prisoner – but boycotting World Cup is no answer'
Former Fulham journeyman Abdeslam Ouaddou tells James Gheerbrant scrutiny of the event has brought change to the emirate



James Gheerbrant
Saturday November 12 2022, 12.01am GMT, The Times





'Iam a servant of football." With those words, Abdeslam Ouaddou brings to a close a conversation that has encompassed service and servitude, adversity and advocacy, labour and love. Speaking on a video call from Benin, where he now coaches, the former Fulham player tells the story of a life that led from sunlit afternoons on the banks of the Thames to moments of darkness and misery in Qatar, and on to a decade-long fight for the rights of migrant workers, kindled by a sense of human kinship.

"I believe that the dignity of man must be at the centre of everything that you do in life, no matter your field, no matter your line of work," he says. "I was no great player. I was just a normal player who wasn't particularly well known, I'm not Messi or Ronaldo or Mbappé. But I wanted to put my shoulder to the wheel, to denounce these archaic goings-on, which belong to another world and are contrary to respect for the rights of men and women."

Ouaddou spent two years in Qatar at the end of his playing days. He arrived as a journeyman looking to experience a new culture and end his career on a high; he departed in a state of psychological distress, so anxious to leave that he gripped his wife's hand and said a silent prayer until his aircraft's wheels left the tarmac. He says his wages were withheld, his car confiscated and his electricity cut off, and that he was, "in a metaphorical sense, 'imprisoned' in an open-air prison" by the Gulf's system of sponsored labour, known as kafala.

But what he has to say about this World Cup is nuanced and unexpected: he thinks the tournament should go ahead without boycotts or disruption, and believes that the scrutiny of a global event has brought meaningful changes to the emirate.

First, we talk about Fulham, the golden years of his career. Born in Morocco and raised in France, Ouaddou arrived in London in 2001 aged 22, the summer after Fulham won promotion to the Premier League, and even though he never quite managed to establish himself as a regular starter in defence, he loved it. He spent the last two years of his Fulham contract on loan at Rennes, then had a brief sojourn with Olympiacos, where he played in the Champions League alongside Rivaldo. That was followed by four seasons back in Ligue 1, at Valenciennes and Nancy. At the age of 31, he received the offer of a new challenge in Qatar, at a club called Lekhwiya, now known as Duhail, and decided to take it.

"I didn't go for financial reasons, far from it, that wasn't what interested me," he says. "It was really more out of curiosity: the idea of going to play in a Muslim country, and of discovering that part of the Middle East."

In Ouaddou's first season, Lekhwiya won the Qatari title. Things began to go wrong in his second year when, out of the blue, he was told that he had to move to another Qatari club, Qatar SC, even though he had signed a three-year contract.


Ouaddou, pictured in 2003 marking Manchester United's Ruud Van Nistelrooy, joined Fulham in 2001 but finished the last two years of his contract on loan at Rennes. He moved to Qatar in 2010Ouaddou, pictured in 2003 marking Manchester United's Ruud Van Nistelrooy, joined Fulham in 2001 but finished the last two years of his contract on loan at Rennes. He moved to Qatar in 2010
Ouaddou, pictured in 2003 marking Manchester United's Ruud Van Nistelrooy, joined Fulham in 2001 but finished the last two years of his contract on loan at Rennes. He moved to Qatar in 2010
ANDREW COWIE/SHUTTERSTOCK
"I resisted and resisted, but it quickly became clear that it was an obligation and that I had better go along with it," he says. "So that's what I did, and I found myself in another club with no structure, no professionalism. We had a very mediocre season, and at that point the club asked me to terminate my contract with no compensation, which I refused."

After that, Ouaddou says his salary payments were cut off for six months, followed by the seizure of his vehicle. He was kicked out of the house where he lived with his young family, whom he moved into a hotel. He believes the objective was to grind him down and make him stop coming to training, so that the club would have grounds to terminate his contract for misconduct, and that his mental wellbeing was collateral damage. "When you cut off a man's electricity," he says, "when you confiscate his car so that he can no longer go to work, and when you stop paying his salary, it is because you want to psychologically destroy a human being."

In his words, Ouaddou remained "beyond reproach, ultra-professional". He bought another car and continued to attend training. But the toll was considerable. "Since I left Qatar, my children have never spoken a word to me about that country, because they had such a terrible experience there, because they saw their papa, who for the previous 12 years always came home with a smile on his face . . .That was the first time they saw me come home carrying lots of sorrow."

The obvious question is: why did he resist? Why not just accept the way the wind was blowing, go back to France and dust himself down? "I am a humanist," Ouaddou says. "I believe that respect for work, respect for the contracts that you sign, is fundamentally a matter of respect for the dignity of man. It's a question of human rights. He who presides over a work contract, presides over a human relationship, and that applies the world over. Without those contractual relationships, we are left with a drift into anarchy. So when these people began to behave in this manner . . . that was something I could not tolerate."


Ouaddou raises the trophy after Lekhwiya won the Qatari championship in Doha in 2011Ouaddou raises the trophy after Lekhwiya won the Qatari championship in Doha in 2011
Ouaddou raises the trophy after Lekhwiya won the Qatari championship in Doha in 2011
KARIM JAAFAR/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Having lodged a complaint with Fifa, which intensified the pressure on him (Fifa found in his favour), eventually he realised he had no option but to leave. But when he turned up at the airport, even with his French passport, he was unable to obtain an exit visa without a letter of authorisation from his club. Under Qatari law, employers were able to control migrant workers' employment and immigration status. "I was unable to leave the country, under the influence of the kafala system," Ouaddou says.

Backed into a corner, Ouaddou decided to tell his story to the BBC and other foreign outlets. At that point, Qatar SC proffered his letter of authorisation and he was finally able to depart. Many people would have been tempted to leave the entire experience behind them. But for Ouaddou, simply to retreat to the sanctuary of the football bubble would have been tantamount to abandoning his fellow migrant workers.

"If a top-level sportsman with no financial issues can be subjected to that kind of maltreatment, you can well imagine the tragedy that could befall the workers who built the stadiums for the World Cup — but not only them," he says. "We could also talk about the women who worked in the houses. These women, who came from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, India, experienced unspeakable things." According to Amnesty International, household workers in Qatar often work 14-to 18-hour days without respite, and in some cases have been subject to physical and sexual abuse.

Some footballers bestride the sport, some graduate to positions of power and influence at its summit, some cultivate a personal brand so mighty it serves as a shield. But most don't. Ouaddou was one of the majority: one atom in a vast and tidal workforce. He was comfortably wealthy, he had made a name for himself, but like all but a fraction of professional footballers, he was also vulnerable, at the mercy of forces far bigger than his fame. In his hour of need, he had sought the help of Fifpro, the global trade union for professional football players.

Wanting to offer some succour to the thousands in high-vis jackets and housemaid's pinafores, Ouaddou began campaigning alongside human-rights organisations and trade unions to improve the lot of Qatar's migrant workers. He believes the reforms wrought have been significant. "I believe that Qatar has evolved over the last ten years," he says. "For one thing, the kafala system no longer exists, and that's thanks to the pressure of the trade unions from England, Germany, Scotland, Norway, Austria and Denmark.

"I want to thank all those people, because thanks to them, things have improved, though they're still not perfect."

In 2020, new labour laws were passed allowing workers to change jobs without their employer's permission. Amnesty's view is that Qatar has made improvements, also in the working conditions of those involved in building the World Cup infrastructure and cracking down on illegal recruitment fees, but that reforms on paper have only been patchily implemented in practice, in a country where the kafala system of employment is deeply embedded. Many workers remain effectively unable to change jobs, unionise or reclaim unpaid wages, and Amnesty therefore advises that the kafala system should not be considered entirely abolished.

A spokesman for Qatar's Supreme Committee said: "Qatar has made every effort to ensure a transformative impact on improving lives, especially for those involved in constructing the competition and non-competition venues. The Supreme Committee's workers' welfare initiatives and the Qatari government's labour reforms are acknowledged by the International Labour Organisation, International Trade Union Confederation and numerous human rights organisations as the benchmark in the region. New laws and reforms often take time to bed in and robust implementation of labour laws is a global challenge. This World Cup has contributed to a legacy of progress and better practice."

Qatar SC, Duhail SC and the Qatari FA were all contacted for comment on Ouaddou's allegations, but did not respond. Ouaddou was once strongly against allowing Qatar to hold the World Cup. He helped to set up a campaigning website, rerunthevote.org. In 2013, he said: "A country that doesn't respect human beings does not deserve the right to organise the best competition in the world." But his view has evolved. He believes that to boycott or disrupt the tournament now would be "to hold football hostage, to hold the players hostage". As an Arab man, he also appreciates the significance of the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East.


Ouaddou does not believe that any disruptions — or "black T-shirts and armbands and gestures" — are a good idea now; he does not want the football to be "held hostage"Ouaddou does not believe that any disruptions — or "black T-shirts and armbands and gestures" — are a good idea now; he does not want the football to be "held hostage"
Ouaddou does not believe that any disruptions — or "black T-shirts and armbands and gestures" — are a good idea now; he does not want the football to be "held hostage"
FADI AL-ASSAAD/REUTERS

"There was a time to denounce this tournament," he says. "Now it's time to let this World Cup happen and to make sure that next time we keep our eyes open and don't make the same mistake. Now let's allow football its moment, let's not get in the way of those emotions, of the magic of football, its power to bring people together."

The suggestion that participating teams and players should be expected to protest against the tournament, as well as the recent decision by several French cities to refuse to screen it in town squares, elicits scorn in Ouaddou. "The moment has passed," he says. "I find the idea of wearing some sort of symbol hypocritical. I feel the same about the French cities. To me, that's hypocrisy. What is that going to change? Will that suck the carbon emissions out of the atmosphere? Will that bring back all the lives that were lost? No. The time for action was before. I would prefer to leave the spectacle alone."

How then to allow Qatar its moment and accept its efforts to reform, while also acknowledging the structures of inequity on which this tournament was built? Ouaddou has a stark suggestion. "What I would like," he says, "is for each captain, at the end of each interview, to utter a thought for the people who built the stadium in which they are playing, with simplicity and solemnity, without getting bogged down in black T-shirts and armbands and gestures."

With that, it's time for Ouaddou to get back to work. "Football made me," he says. "Football educated me." It also gave him a voice: it has been his mission to use it on behalf of people who cannot speak for themselves.

[Somerset Fulham]

Cheers, both.

Thats a rough old read, the poor bloke. Pretty muc h the definition of a slave, allbeit with a slave with a good job.

[Cambridge Away]

Wow, it makes our leaders and politicians look like saints. Just another form of greed though. So sad.

Glad to see "Seaside" doing his bit.
I remember i once saw him in Southfields and gave him a shout. Crazy how life turns out sometimes