Qatar acknowledges death of hundreds of migrant workers during preparations for hosting World Cup

Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for Qatari Delivery and Legacy, Hassan Al-Thawadi has estimated the number of workers, who died as a result of construction projects in preparation for hosting the 2022 World Cup, between 400 and 500 migrant workers.

Al-Thawadi said, “Estimates range between 400 and 500. I don’t have the exact number. This is something that has been discussed.” He lamented: “One death is too many deaths.”

He considered that “the standards have improved in terms of health and safety, at least in our construction sites, those related to the World Cup, to the extent that we host representatives of the German and Swiss federations who commented on this improvement.”

This is the first time that the Qatari authorities have announced these numbers, and they are more than what they previously indicated, as they only recognized the death of about 30 people as a result of the construction work related to the World Cup.

However, the new country estimates are still very far from the numbers provided by human rights organizations, which indicate the death of more than 6,500 migrant workers since the start of the World Cup preparations in 2011.

YPA