Report claiming 6,500 people died working on stadium infrastructure misleading: Qatar Official

Doha: In an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro, Sheikh Thamer bin Hamad Al Thani, Deputy Director for Media Affairs of the Government Communications Office, confirmed that calls to boycott the 2022 World Cup in Qatar were based on misleading media reports, adding that those calling for a boycott ignored the progress the State of Qatar has made in reforming its labour law and promoting migrant workers’ rights. He said that it was good to see that in recent weeks, many football associations, NGOs and fan groups have realised that a boycott is not a constructive outcome, explaining that Qatar fully supports footballers and football associations who use their platform to promote human rights. Their criticism of the 2022 World Cup, however, is misplaced, and that Qatar has made tangible progress on labour reforms and has shown its commitment to continue the process in cooperation with its international partners.

During the interview, Sheikh Thamer bin Hamad Al Thani outlined how reporting from The Guardian claiming 6,500 workers have died working on stadium infrastructure is both misleading and “a far cry from reality”. This figure includes all deaths over the past ten years of residents in Qatar from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal. However, contrary to what The Guardian claims, not all of these people were working on construction sites. “Expatriates from these countries also include students, the elderly, and workers employed in offices, retail shops, schools, and hospitals. Qatar has over 1.4 million expatriates from these countries. Only 20% of them are employed as workers in the construction sector, which accounts for less than 10% of all deaths between 2014 and 2019.”