London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Qatar World Cup migrant workers left mired in debt, Human Right Watch says

Qatar World Cup migrant workers left mired in debt, Human Right Watch says

Qatari firms accused of complicity as families of dead workers are left in penury
Migrant workers who helped build the infrastructure for Qatar to host the upcoming football World Cup have been left mired in debt because of the extortionate recruitment fees charged by agents, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.

Over the past 12 months, the nongovernmental organization interviewed dozens of migrant workers from Bangladesh, India, Kenya and Nepal, including the families of seven who are now dead.

Many said they had been forced into debt bondage — a form of forced labor recognized under international law — and were unable to leave their jobs, making them more vulnerable to abuse. Others said they had used up all of their savings and even sold family assets to meet the repayments on the fees charged by their recruiters.

In some instances, the families of workers who died in Qatar said they had been left to deal with the aftermath.

Bulani Sahani, the father of a migrant worker from Nepal who died in Qatar earlier this year, said he was struggling to provide for his grandchildren because of the debts his son had incurred.

“My son went (to Qatar) after borrowing money (more than $1,100) from many villagers,” he said.

“Now everyone keeps asking for it. They say that I must have received compensation for my son’s death, but I haven’t received a single rupee. How will I repay them? I don’t even have land to sell to pay them.”

Several investigations, including ones conducted on behalf of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy — the body responsible for creating the infrastructure needed to host the Word Cup — have revealed the pervasiveness of recruitment fees that can take months, if not years, to repay.

The 10 people interviewed by Human Rights Watch who had paid off their debts said it took them between four months and two years.

While the problem of high recruitment fees lay partially with companies in the workers’ home countries, the report said that businesses based in Qatar were complicit as they had imposed costs on recruiters that they knew would be passed on to the workers.

Because of Qatari firms’ lack of oversight, some unscrupulous recruiters had been able to “double dip,” charging both employers and migrant workers, it said.

While Qatari authorities had earlier claimed that the problem of exorbitant recruitment fees fell outside their jurisdiction, Human Rights Watch accused them of failing to tackle the issue.

It said also that FIFA — football’s governing body — and Qatari authorities had yet to commit to establishing a compensation fund for serious abuses of migrant workers.

“With 30 days left until the tournament, there is a slim window for FIFA and Qatari authorities to correct course and commit to remedying past abuses that have stained the 2022 World Cup,” said Michael Page, HRW’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Unless FIFA and Qatar act, then the real ‘legacy’ of this tournament will be how FIFA, Qatar and anyone profiting from this World Cup left families of thousands of migrant workers indebted after they died and left many migrant workers who had their wages stolen uncompensated.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×