Investigation Qatar 2022 — Bought Votes and 6,500 Dead Workers

A 2021 Guardian investigation found that at least 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka died in Qatar between 2010 and 2020 — an average of 12 a week — during the building boom for the 2022 World Cup; the true toll is higher since it excluded other nationalities. Workers were bound by the kafala system, which let employers control their ability to change jobs or leave the country. Qatar officially acknowledges only 3 work-related stadium deaths (later "400–500" nationwide in one official's interview). A 2020 DOJ superseding indictment separately alleged FIFA officials took bribes to vote for Qatar's hosting. A 2024 FIFA-commissioned report concluded FIFA "has a responsibility" to compensate those harmed — even as it advanced Saudi Arabia's 2034 bid.