Tackling the Qatar World Cup’s ugly secrets

The Telegraph’s scoop last week implicating Jack Warner, the former vice-president of FIFA, in a bribery scandal surrounding the decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup, has fuelled fresh calls for the tournament to be relocated. Repeated suggestions of foul play have added to practical concerns regarding the heat in Qatar in the summer, and the experience that fans could expect in a country where homosexuality is illegal and, far less seriously, alcohol is strictly regulated.

This confusing picture perhaps explains why it has taken so long for us to realise the other implications that a World Cup in Qatar would have. While the current construction boom in Qatar is financed by oil, it is the 1.3 million foreign nationals – 94 per cent of the total workforce – who are paying a heavy price. International attention has now focused on the fact that hundreds of Nepalese and Indian workers have died in Qatar since 2010, and on credible estimates that thousands more are likely to die before 2022. Qatari authorities have pointed out that it is unclear how many of the workers who have died so far were directly involved in tournament projects. While true, this is a grossly insufficient response, and merely highlights the lack of information made available by Qatar.

Progress has been made, however, on highlighting the human rights abuses faced by migrant workers in Qatar. These stem mainly from the ‘kafala’ system, whereby workers are ‘sponsored’ by the company that they work for. The reality of the kafala system means that many workers face a multitude of abuses at once: no access to basic healthcare, not being regularly paid, insanitary accommodation – described by the BBC as ‘cockroach-infested’ – in addition to not being able to leave the country and escape their conditions.

The much-trumpeted ‘workers’ welfare standards charter’ released by Qatari organisers last month will only be applicable to designated ‘World Cup sites’ – a worker fitting seats inside a stadium will be covered, but those building the roads to the grounds or working inside fans’ hotels will not. The narrow definition means that currently only 79 workers in all of Qatar are currently covered. This number will of course increase, but International Trade Union Confederation general secretary Sharan Burrow could be forgiven for damning the new standards as a ‘sham’.

The question now for those wanting to see drastic improvements for migrant workers in Qatar is how best to go about achieving that. There are of course substantial risks, particularly for western politicians and the media – not least as we are open to accusations of interference in a culture of which we may only have a limited understanding.

I have tabled an early day motion calling for stronger action from FIFA and the Qatari government that has the support of 29 members of parliament from all major parties. As coverage of the issue increases, so will parliamentary support; with that will come the opportunity to productively engage with Qatar – to praise improvements in workers’ conditions, while continually highlighting the considerable changes still required.

In his speech to the Scottish Labour conference at the weekend, Jim Murphy rightly called the treatment of workers in Qatar the ‘ugly secret of the beautiful game’, and his visit to Qatar next week will raise the profile of the abuses further.

However difficult it may be, the UK can offer a positive example to Qatar. We can add the expertise we have gained by delivering such a successful and safe Olympic games, and FIFA can pressure Qatar to expand its definition of a ‘World Cup site’ to vastly increase the number of workers covered by the welfare standards. For the moment, removing the World Cup from Qatar is unlikely to do anything to help the migrant workers already there, and would represent a serious failure on the part of football and the international community.