Two-thirds of Germans want team to boycott Qatar World Cup - survey

Almost two-thirds of Germans would want the national team to boycott next year's World Cup in Qatar over human rights issues, according to a survey published on Saturday.

Of the 1,198 people polled by Infratest dimap in the survey commissioned by broadcasters WRD, 65 per cent said they were in favour of a boycott in connection with working conditions for migrant workers in Qatar.

Only 26 per cent were against not playing at the tournament and nine per cent were undecided or gave no view.

Of those interested in football from the polled, 61 per cent favoured a boycott, 33 want the team to play and 6 per cent are undecided.

Qatar has been criticised over the workers' conditions since it was awarded the tournament in 2010. British paper The Guardian said recently that 6,500 people from five Asian countries have died in Qatar in the period.

Qatar named the number not excessive given the overall number of people from those countries in Qatar, and has said that 37 have died on World Cup stadium construction sites.

Workers rights have improved which has been recognized internationally but human rights groups and football associations from the Nordic countries say that more must be done. Teams including Germany and Norway have also called for human rights to be observed.

Gianni Infantino, president of the world governing body FIFA, told Friday's FIFA Congress that the tournament "will not only be the greatest one but leave a lasting positive social legacy in the country and the entire region."