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Workers For The Qatar World Cup Say They Haven't Been Paid In More Than A Year, Are Living In Squalor

Emmett Knowlton   

Workers For The Qatar World Cup Say They Haven't Been Paid In More Than A Year, Are Living In Squalor
Sports1 min read

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Luxury World Cup offices in Al Bidda Tower (farthest to the left) were built by migrant workers who say they haven't been paid in over a year.

Migrant workers from Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India say they haven't been paid in 13 months for building luxury offices in Doha, Qatar that are being used by organizers for the 2022 World Cup, The Guardian reports.

The luxury offices reportedly feature lavish adornments like handmade Italian furniture and a heated executive toilet.

Meanwhile, workers tell the Guardian they are living in cockroach-invested squalor that violates Qatari labor law. They say they have been unable to get paid even meager wages, having been left in legal limbo after the collapse of their contracting company.

Qatar's World Cup organizing committee said it was "heavily dismayed" to learn about the plight of these workers but offered no solution other than to "press for a speedy and fair conclusion," according to The Guardian.

1,200 migrant workers have died in Qatar since the country was awarded the World Cup in 2010, according to a report from the International Trade Union Confederation. When the first game of the 2022 World Cup is played, the ITUC estimates 4,000 workers will have died.

It is also alleged that Qatari officials spent up to $5 million in bribes in order to win the 2022 World Cup. But despite the controversy, Qatar continues to plow forward in construction.

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