INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Here we explore the key questions around an issue that has tarnished the World Cup for many fans.Why is this World Cup so
the tournament in December 2010 in a bidding process that, according to American authorities, was riddled with corruption
LGBT people, and the dangerous and exploitative conditions faced by the vast numbers of migrant workers who have built the
beyond the pitch.Guardian reporting goes far beyond what happens on the pitch
possible, but it has come at great cost for many migrant workers and their families who not only made personal sacrifices, but also faced
migrant workers are in Qatar and where do they come from?The population of Qatar is about three million, roughly 88% of whom are foreign
The migrant workforce is estimated at two million, comprising 95% of the labor force
About a million people are employed in construction and another 100,000 are domestic workers
Mostly men, a large percentage come from the Philippines and south Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.What are
they building?The first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup finals, Qatar has spent anywhere from $220bn-$300bn on infrastructure
stadiums for the tournament and renovated an eighth
Other construction projects have included major upgrades to public transport and roads, and new skyscrapers, hotels and housing, as well as
Lusail, a new city that will host the final.What is the latest death toll?The official count among workers on World Cup sites is 37 non-work
related deaths and only three from work-related accidents but many believe that is a vast undercount.The problem is that it is hard to
associate a firm figure with the tournament and to assess how many deaths were preventable given the lack of available information
Fifa and the Qatari organizers have sought to distance World Cup-related construction from more general projects, though it is likely that
many of these would not have been commissioned without the tournament-inspired boom
designed for migrant workers on the outskirts of Doha
A Guardian analysis in February 2021 found that more than 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had
died in Qatar since the award of the tournament
The death records were not categorised by occupation or place of work
The government has said that 30,000 foreign laborers were employed to build World Cup stadiums.The International Labour Organization (ILO)
found that in 2020, 50 people suffered work-related deaths, 500 were seriously injured, and 37,600 sustained mild to moderate injuries.How
are workers dying?Average high temperatures in Qatar exceed 100F (37.7C) for five months of the year
Though the tournament was moved from summer to winter for the safety and comfort of players, officials and fans, workers are at risk of
accidents, heat-related illnesses and other ailments related to the physical and mental strains of working long hours in extreme heat
Suicide is also a concern
Construction workers frequently live in squalid conditions that stand in stark contrast with the opulence of many of the facilities they
impossible for bereaved families to claim compensation.The organization found that as many of 70% of migrant deaths are classified
imprecisely, with Guardian data suggesting that 69% of deaths among Indian, Nepali and Bangladeshi workers have been categorised as natural
The ILO report states that falls from height and road traffic accidents were the leading causes of severe injuries.In 2021 the Guardian
highlighted the deaths of workers such as Gangaram Mandal, a laborer from Nepal who came to Qatar in 2018 in order to support his wife and
He borrowed money to pay a recruitment fee then earned the equivalent of a dollar a day
After two years he fell ill at the end of a shift during the summer
in the past five years, though critics charge that these do not go far enough to protect workers and that enforcement is patchy
A minimum wage for all workers equivalent to about $275 a month came into force in 2021.What have the soccer authorities said?Teams such as
Denmark and the Netherlands have been far more vocal in their criticism of working conditions and human rights than Fifa, which has banned
that criticism of the country reeked of Western hypocrisy.Concerns about LGBT rights, forced labor and unsafe conditions also marred the
previous World Cup, in Russia in 2018
mostly as a result of falls from heights or being struck by falling equipment.
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
