While the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has certainly had its thrilling moments on the pitch, it has also been plagued with controversies. Many of those controversies stem from the country’s conservative Muslim policies, like Qatar’s anti-LGBTQ stance and its strict alcohol regulations. However, the country’s egregious human rights violations have drawn the most criticism.
Over the past several years, Qatar has been heavily criticized for using underpaid or unpaid migrant workers to build the World Cup stadiums and facilities with reports that many of those workers died as a result of the severe working conditions. Up to this point, Qatar has downplayed the number of deaths, but now they’re admitting to more than they ever have before.
In an interview with Piers Morgan this week, Hassan Al-Thawadi, the secretary general of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, admitted that between 400 and 500 migrant workers have died due to construction projects related to the 2022 World Cup.
World Cup boss Hassan Al-Thawadi tells Piers Morgan 400-500 migrant workers have died as a result of work done on projects connected to the tournament.
"Yes, improvements have to happen."@piersmorgan | @TalkTV | #PMUQatar pic.twitter.com/Cf9bgKCFZe
— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) November 28, 2022
It’s worth noting that even though this would be a massive number of deaths, this is still likely a massive underestimate. Back in 2013, it was estimated that about 4,000 migrant workers would die during the construction – an average of 12 a week. Some more current estimates project the total even higher than that.
FIFA, meanwhile, does not want its teams to discuss human rights issues or any other controversies surrounding the country or the event. The organization asked World Cup clubs to “stick to football.” Though, that obviously has not always happened.
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