Qatar The World Cup of worker exploitation

Migrant workers who forked out substantial sums to secure jobs in run-up to tournament live in repugnant conditions

When Qatar’s national football team kicks off the World Cup finals against Ecuador at Al Bayt stadium on 20 November, fans watching around the world will get their first glimpse of a stunning 60,000-seat arena built to resemble a nomadic tent.

The stadium, arguably Qatar’s finest, will host matches through to the semi-finals, including group stage games involving the likes of England, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.

Just as impressive is the pristine park surrounding the stadium. Manicured lawns are dotted with fountains, streams and a lake. Ducks play in the cool water. A running track winds

its way around the stadium passing immaculate training pitches with grass like a putting green.

Yet the men who labour day after day in the relentless heat and humidity to maintain this remarkable green space – watering the grounds, cutting the grass and painstakingly pulling up weeds by hand – live in very different conditions.

At the end of each shift, they are driven for 40 minutes to the edge of the desert, where they are dropped off at a farm belonging to their employer, Al Sulaiteen Agricultural and Industrial Complex (SAIC). Among rows of giant greenhouses are small rundown cabins. Some house three or four workers in single beds, others five or six in bunks, but all those viewed by the Guardian were windowless, cramped and dirty. Towels draped between the upper and lower bunks provide what little privacy there is. Water bottles, cooking utensils and personal belongings are crammed under the beds. Clothes hang on lines strung across the walls.

Fifa and the local World Cup organising body, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), have repeatedly claimed that the tournament has been the catalyst to transform conditions for low-wage labourers but the Guardian’s findings expose serious shortcomings.

Workers employed on World Cuprelated projects are supposed to enjoy superior treatment in line with stringent “workers’ welfare standards”, but in interviews this summer with workers employed by SAIC at three World Cup stadiums – Al Bayt, Al Janoub and Ahmad Bin Ali – the Guardian heard allegations of multiple breaches of these standards.

All the workers interviewed, who are from Bangladesh, Nepal and India, say they were forced to pay illegal fees to agents in their own countries to secure their jobs. “I paid 300,000 [Bangladeshi taka – the equivalent of about $3,000],” said one worker. “Some pay a little more, some a little less, but everyone pays.”

The local organising committee of the World Cup introduced a scheme in 2017 to encourage its contractors to repay workers’ recruitment fees, but SAIC workers who spoke to the Guardian say they have received nothing.

Most of the interviewed workers are earning a basic wage of 1,000 rials ($265) a month. Food and accommodation are provided by SAIC. The wage is the legal minimum in Qatar, but workers say they are struggling to repay their recruitment fees and associated debts, and send money to their families.

In the face of relentless criticism of its treatment of low-wage migrant workers, Qatar announced a law in 2020 to remove the abusive kafala system – under which workers were unable to change jobs – but the workers say SAIC refuses to release them.

The World Cup organising committee said: “We recognise that the SAIC workers may still face challenges from their employers.” It encouraged SAIC workers to use its grievance hotline to raise concerns.

During the hottest summer months, the workers get up before dawn and head to the Al Bayt stadium – which cost nearly $850m to build. By 7am, the heat is unbearable, but Kabir (not his real name) works on, watering the grass and trees. He did not know he would be working at a World Cup site when he came to Qatar, but it does not seem to interest him. “I’m not excited about the World Cup,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t think we can even go inside the stadium.”

The only thing that really concerns him is his salary. “Qatar is a rich country, but they are paying so little for the work we do,” said Kabir. “You can forget about good pay here.”

The SC said it had “stayed true to its commitment of utilising the World Cup to deliver lasting social changes for our workers, to improve their working and living conditions”. It cited improved accommodation, measures to minimise workers’ exposure to heat, legislation to introduce a minimum wage and allow workers to change jobs, and a monitoring system to ensure companies comply with the law.

“Thousands of companies have adjusted their work practices to comply with the new laws and regulations,” it added.

Fifa said it was in contact with the SC regarding the allegations raised by SAIC employees. It added: “In addition to the extensive measures already introduced, which aim to support workers involved in the preparation and delivery of the World Cup, Fifa has actively pushed for the implementation of broader labour reforms that apply to all companies and projects across the country and benefit all workers in Qatar.”

SAIC did not respond to requests for comment.