World Cup: Secretary General of the Organizing Committee estimates the number of dead workers at 400 to 500

The Supreme Committee responsible for organizing the 2022 World Cup did not accustom us to such figures, the one who estimated the number of deaths at their construction sites at 3 people for everyone and for everyone. Answering the question of the English journalist Piers Morgan on TalkTV channel about the number of deaths among migrant workers in “all construction sites associated with the World Cup”, the chairman of this committee, Hassan Al-Tawadi, nevertheless called a much higher figure: “Approximately 400. From 400 up to 500, I don’t have an exact figure. »

“One death is too many,” Al-Tawadi continued. It’s simple. Every year health and safety standards are improving, at least in our World Cup sites, to the point where we have German and Swiss trade union representatives commenting on the improvement. »

Should such improvements have been made in advance? Were working conditions too bad to host the World Cup in Qatar? “It is clear that improvements had to be made at this level,” admits the Chairman of the Supreme Committee. And let’s be clear: these improvements didn’t happen because of the World Cup: we knew we had to do it because of our values. Whether it be in terms of security, housing, or the reform of the kafala system. What an effect of the World Cup, that it has accelerated all this. All the light shed on Qatar has given rise to many initiatives, not only from a legislative standpoint, but also in the application of these new laws. Today we are in a position where even our harshest critics see us as a role model in the region. »