Controversy over the human cost of building the infrastructure needed for the 2022 tournament in the Gulf state’s extreme summer heat has hung over the event for years.
In 2021 it was revealed that 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died in Qatar since it won its bid to host the World Cup in 2010.
Qatar’s government said that not all of the deaths recorded were of people working on World Cup-related projects, and that many may have died of old age or other natural causes.
Before the tournament, authorities claimed that there had only been three “work-related” deaths at the stadium construction sites since work began in 2014.
But during the event, organizers said the number of migrant workers who died in World Cup-related projects was “between 400 and 500.”
Qatar introduced labor reforms starting in 2017, with more protection for workers, a minimum wage and the dismantling of the controversial ‘kafala’ sponsorship system, but there have long been concerns about the implementation of the changes.
Despite generating a record £6bn from the World Cup, FIFA resisted calls from campaigners, players’ unions, fan representative groups and some European football federations for a compensation fund of £350. million to the families of workers who were injured or killed, and instead committed to a legacy fund.
In late 2022, FIFA said it “welcomed assurances” from the Qatari government in relation to an existing insurance and worker support fund which it said had provided hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation., external in cases that mainly concern delays and non-payment of wages.
In March 2023, FIFA also commissioned an independent report to advise on its responsibilities towards migrant workers in Qatar, which has not yet been published.
