British man dies working on Qatar 2022 World Cup stadium
A British man has died while working on a flagship 2022 World Cup stadium in Qatar, the organisers have said.
The 40-year old man, who has yet to be named, died on Thursday while working on the Khalifa International Stadium.
The organisers, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, said his next of kin had been informed but provided no further details of his death.
Labour said the Qatari authorities and Fifa had been putting “profit before safety”, and urged Fifa to investigate. The man was employed by a specialist German contractor. Khalifa, a multi-purpose venue in Qatar’s capital Doha and the home of the national football team, is being extended from its current capacity of 40,000 to 68,000.
It is scheduled to host the 2019 World Athletics Championships and the 2022 World Cup matches up to the quarter-finals stage.
The conditions for workers refurbishing the stadium attracted attention last year from the rights group Amnesty International, which accused Qatar of using forced labour.
It followed previous reports in 2015 of some 1,200 workers who had died building the stadiums in Qatar for the World Cup.
Labour’s shadow sports minister Rosena Allin-Khan said: “This kind of incident is becoming all too common... and it’s unacceptable that basic health and safety precautions are not being followed. “Fifa and the Qatari authorities are putting profit before safety.” She said Fifa’s new president Gianni Infantino should “show where his priorities lie, launch an urgent investigation and ensure everything is done to protect workers”.
Fifa said it “deeply regrets” the loss of life, and that the local authorities and the Supreme Committee were investigating the circumstances.
In a statement on its website, the Supreme Committee shared its “deepest condolences with the family for their loss”.
The local authorities in Qatar have repeatedly insisted that the World Cup sites have a good record for worker safety.
Though the first World Cup stadium was only started in 2014, subways, hotels and even an entire city are being built - along with an airport, numerous roads, a new sewerage system in central Doha and 20 skyscrapers.