Sporting the colours of Newcastle United and other football clubs, these are just some of the workers risking their lives for the beautiful game.

Thousands of people will die building the stadiums and infrastructure for Qatar’s World Cup before the first ball is kicked.

That is the stark message from North East MP Ian Lavery, who visited the Gulf state to inspect the camp’s housing migrant workers preparing for the global football tournament in 2022.

He described men being held in “modern day slavery” and unable to return to their home countries until they had worked for years on pitiful wages.

They were housed in “what can only be described as prison camps”, said the Labour MP, with as many as 10 people crammed into rooms meant for four in 50 degree heat.

Under current predictions from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), a staggering 7,000 workers will die before the tournament even begins.

Mr Lavery, the MP for Wansbeck, visited the Al Khor labour camp, north of the capital Doha, on an undercover trip with a delegation that included Unite leader Len McCluskey.

He spoke to workers about their terms and conditions, and presented one with a Newcastle United shirt.

The men, mainly from South Asia, described the abuse they were suffering under the Kafala system, which is used to monitor migrant labourers.

MP Ian Lavery
MP Ian Lavery

Mr Lavery said: “It is a form of modern day slavery. The individuals are picked up by an agency in their country of origin and promised the world.

“They then sign agreements and pay a huge amount of money to the agent, which usually runs to thousands of dollars.

“But when they arrive in Qatar a new contract is written that gives a lot less than what was promised.

“Their passport is taken from them and they barely have the wages to live on, let alone pay off the agent’s fees or send money to their family.”

Qatar is the world’s richest country per head, thanks to its vast supply of oil and natural gas.

But Mr Lavery described the conditions in the labour camps as “terrible”, saying they are not even fit for wild animals let along humans.

“To say they were squalid would be an understatement - you would not keep wild animals in a state like that,” said the 53-year-old.

“It was red hot but there was no air conditioning or running water, and they had to eat food off their bunk beds.

“Then there was a racial pecking order that decided what wages you would receive. To say it was staggering would be an understatement.

“It was devastating to think we were in the richest country in the world but people were living like dogs.”

Migrant workers who are building some of the 2022 World Cup projects along with other construction projects in Doha, Qatar
Migrant workers who are building some of the 2022 World Cup projects along with other construction projects in Doha, Qatar

Qatar claims the ITUC’s figure of 7,000 deaths is based on annual fatality rates among all expats and not just migrant workers.

But Mr Lavery said the death rate on the camps was “staggeringly high”, with workers suffering cardiac arrests caused by dehydration and heat exhaustion.

The Qatari Government does not publish data on industrial accidents, and last year arrested a BBC team talking to migrant workers about their conditions.

The decision to give Qatar the 2022 World Cup was shrouded in controversy.

And the abuse of labourers adds to the doubts over the tournament going to a country so hot that matches will have to be played in the winter.

Mr Lavery added: “There are huge question marks over why FIFA agreed to hold the tournament in Qatar.

“We will be campaigning for all the candidates running for the presidential election to make it a priority to look after the workers.

“I would urge people to question the ethics of the Qatari Government before deciding to travel to the World Cup.

“But I do not think it is too late for them to recognise that people across the globe want them to clean up their abuse of human rights.

“I hope we can all remember that to build these magnificent stadiums for some of the wealthiest people in the world some of the poorest were expected to lose their lives.”