It's a shame that there are no jobs for these workers in their own countries so that they wouldn't have to suffer abuse on their jobs in the Middle East.
Qataris watch Bayern Munich players training in Doha during a 2011 visit KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images
This January, Bayern Munich jetted off to Qatar for a week of training in the sun at the state-of-the-art Aspire Academy sports centre, in the shadow of Doha's flagship Khalifa International stadium. Asked by reporters about Qatar's human rights record, club captain Philippe Lahm said, "The whole team are all occupied with the subject of what's going on in Qatar. We have not closed our eyes."
But Lahm and his team-mates could never have imagined the abuse endured by migrants who had worked in the gardens around them and in a nearby stadium slated to host a World Cup semi-final in 2022.
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Last year, I spoke to gardeners who maintained the green spaces in the Aspire Zone sports complex and to construction workers who were building Khalifa Stadium. Sleeping eight to a room in filthy, cramped accommodation they struggled to survive, let alone pay off the debts they owe to recruiters or send money back home to families who depend on them. Some were not paid for months at a time.
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Qatar has built a football hub on the backs of abused workers - it is time for Fifa to act?
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By Mustafa QadriApril 14, 2016 17:12 BST - 36
Qataris watch Bayern Munich players training in Doha during a 2011 visit KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images
This January, Bayern Munich jetted off to Qatar for a week of training in the sun at the state-of-the-art Aspire Academy sports centre, in the shadow of Doha's flagship Khalifa International stadium. Asked by reporters about Qatar's human rights record, club captain Philippe Lahm said, "The whole team are all occupied with the subject of what's going on in Qatar. We have not closed our eyes."
But Lahm and his team-mates could never have imagined the abuse endured by migrants who had worked in the gardens around them and in a nearby stadium slated to host a World Cup semi-final in 2022.
Why advertise with us
Last year, I spoke to gardeners who maintained the green spaces in the Aspire Zone sports complex and to construction workers who were building Khalifa Stadium. Sleeping eight to a room in filthy, cramped accommodation they struggled to survive, let alone pay off the debts they owe to recruiters or send money back home to families who depend on them. Some were not paid for months at a time.
Continue reading at:
Qatar has built a football hub on the backs of abused workers - it is time for Fifa to act?
