On Thursday, England’s superstars interacted with the migrant workers from some of the world’s poorest countries who constructed the venues for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
On Thursday, Captain Harry Kane and his team met the men at their Al Wakra training facility. A representative from the FA has said: “Back in September, we mentioned that we wanted to thank the migrant workers who played a part in making the tournament a success by inviting them into camp to meet the players. We can’t wait to finally meet them.”
Workers from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, some of the world’s poorest countries, were paid the equivalent of 82 pence per hour to construct the eight stadiums for Qatar 2022, according to a 2019 Mirror investigation.
The venues and supporting infrastructure, such as the new Metro system, hotels, and training facilities, were all set up in sweltering heat and humidity. Following today’s practice, the group will get together to discuss game plans for Monday’s match against Iran.
At a Monday welcome event in Doha, the US men’s national soccer team worked through some training drills with a local construction crew.
American footballers like Christian Pulisic of Chelsea kicked the ball around with the construction crews and gave them tips on how to improve their skills. After that, Pulisic, Berhalter, and the rest of the American players signed autographs for the staff.
For the first time ever, the World Cup will be held in the Middle East, in Qatar. However, it has been under severe scrutiny for its treatment of foreign workers in recent years.
The migrant workers who constructed the World Cup stadiums in Qatar endured long hours of physically demanding work, frequent discrimination, theft of wages, and other mistreatment.
A report by the London-based rights group Equidem, released just before the tournament, claims that their employers avoided responsibility.