FIFA World Cup 2022: The FIFA World Cup 2022 is in full action in Qatar as the teams bid to book their spots in the knockouts. However, during the tournament, a big revelation has surfaced. Qatar, which had earlier publically stated that 40 people have died building the infrastructure for the tournament has now stated that between 400-500 workers have died.
Speaking in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, secretary-general of Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy Hassan al-Thawadi made the shocking revelations. When asked what is the realistic total of migrant workers who died as a result of work they're doing for the World Cup in totality, al-Thawadi stated, "The estimate is around 400, between 400 and 500. That's something that's been discussed." He also added, "One death is a death too many. Plain and simple."
This figure was previously never said by Qatar. Reports from the Supreme Committee dating from 2014 through the end of 2021 only include the number of deaths of workers involved in building and refurbishing the stadiums now hosting the World Cup. Those released figures state the number of deaths have been 40. It includes 37 deaths from what the Qataris describe as nonwork incidents such as heart attacks and three from workplace incidents. One report also separately lists a worker who died from the coronavirus amid the pandemic.
Qatar was awarded hosting rights for the tournament in 2010. The nation has made some changes to its employment practices, however, the activists have called for more. They eliminated the so-called kafala employment system. In this system, the employers controlled whether a worker can leave their job or the country. The nation also adopted a minimum monthly wage of 1,000 Qatari riyals for workers and required food and housing allowances for employees not receiving those benefits directly from their employers.
