You could have filled three full squads with the number of men who’ve died preparing Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup.
A week after The Guardian broke the story of the brutal conditions endured by foreign—specifically Nepalese—workers living in Qatar, officials have confirmed that 70 Nepalese workers have been killed on World Cup construction sites since 2012. The joint press release by the governments of Nepal and Qatar revealed that 15 Nepalese workers have died on the job this year alone.
Nepal-based teacher and freelance journalist Pete Pattisson’s documentary on the exploitation of migrant workers in Qatar, released on the Guardian’s website, traces the coffins of deceased workers returning home. It details brutal conditions workers endure—including being denied access to water, despite the brutal summer heat—and that employers withheld workers’ wages and passports. The situation prompted Nepal’s ambassador to Qatar to liken the country to an “open prison” for many of the 340,000 Nepalese citizens working in the tiny Gulf nation.
The revelations paint a damning picture of what goes on behind the scenes of the biggest sporting event on Earth. And they’re not the only controversy dogging Qatar’s World Cup preparations: Momentum is building around moving the tournament to the winter as temperatures can top 50 degrees in June and July.
The irony, of course, is scalding: Stadiums built by men killed by the summer heat will sit empty until winter when it’s safe for them to be played in.