Fifa World Cup 2022: South Asian labourers watch tournament they helped create from outskirts of Doha
- A cricket ground in Asian Town outside the city is where migrant workers from some of the world’s poorest countries enjoy the tournament they helped create
- World Cup spotlight has compelled Qatar to overhaul its labour system, scrapping visas that tied workers to their jobs and a minimum wage of US$275 a month
Far from Doha’s luxury hotels and sprawling new World Cup stadiums, scores of South Asian workers poured into a cricket ground in the city’s sandy outskirts to enjoy the tournament they helped create.
Unlike the official Fifa fan zone near Doha’s pristine corniche, this one has no US$14 beer or foreign tourists. There are few food options beyond deep-fried Indian snacks, scant soccer jerseys in the crowd and even fewer women.
Instead, the grassy pitch in Asian Town, a neighbourhood of labour camps, is packed with migrant workers from some of the world’s poorest countries. They power Qatar, one of the world’s richest, and helped accomplish its multibillion-dollar stadium-building effort.
Their treatment has been the controversial backstory of the 2022 World Cup, ever since Qatar won the bid to host the soccer championship. They can face low wages, inhospitable housing and long hours, often in the scorching heat.
But on Friday night as the Netherlands played Ecuador, the bleachers of the cricket stadium heaved with workers revelling on the one day of the week they have off work.
The lucky ones scored a small number of World Cup match tickets that went on sale for just 40 riyals (US$10) – a special cheaper ticket category for Qatar residents. But for those who can’t afford to go to gleaming stadiums, the giant screens in Asian Town have become a key glimpse into the tournament that has reshaped the tiny emirate.
