A Qatari World Cup official has now claimed more than 400 worker deaths in the country’s buildup to the tournament. Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary general of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Handover and Legacy, made the statement during an interview with Piers Morgan.
Morgan, who recently made headlines in an interview with Cristiano Ronaldo, asked al-Thawadi directly: “What is the honest and realistic total you think of the migrant workers who have died as a result of the work they are doing for the world? ? Cup in its entirety?
“The estimate is around 400, between 400 and 500,” al-Thawadi said. I don’t have the exact number. That’s something that’s been discussed.”
This figure is significantly higher than what World Cup officials have previously claimed. The Supreme Committee once publicly estimated the total number of deaths in the build-up to the World Cup to be 40. This included 37 alleged deaths from “non-work incidents”, including heart attacks and COVID-19.
The Guardian reported more than 6,500 worker deaths at the World Cup
However, The Guardian also previously published its own report on the subject. The British outlet claimed that more than 6,500 migrant workers died in Qatar while building World Cup stadiums. These workers came mostly from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The report, which caused uproar around the world, claimed that around 12 workers from these countries have died every week since Qatar was announced to have won its bid. FIFA awarded the Middle Eastern country the tournament in December 2010.
The Supreme Committee reacts to the admission
The Supreme Committee has attempted to backtrack on al-Thawadi’s recent comments. The officials claim that the secretary-general was actually referring to “national statistics covering the period 2014-2020 for all work-related fatalities (414) across the country in Qatar, covering all sectors and nationalities.”
However, the confusion, or concealment, of how many migrant workers have died raises even more questions about the issue. The recent admission of al-Thawadi will only put FIFA and Qatar under more pressure from defenders and the media.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Moritz Müller
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