QATAR PAYING FAKE SPORTS FANS

QATAR have resorted to paying migrant workers to attend events in a bid to present themselves as a nation of sports fans. The controversial hosts of the 2022 World Cup pay thousands of fake fans little more than 60p an hour, a report published yesterday revealed. An Associated Press journalist managed to board one of the buses, witnessing men ‘grappling with each other’ to earn some extra money. ‘These weren’t refugees fleeing disaster,’ the report noted. ‘They were migrant workers fighting to earn a few dollars.’ Workers attend football, volleyball and handball events dressed in white robes and headscarves to make themselves look like Qatari supporters. The reporter travelled on one of three buses that transported around 150 workers to the Qatar Open beach volleyball event last month. On its website the FIVB, volleyball’s governing body, celebrated the fact that the World Tour event had ‘brought out the crowds’. But the migrant workers from Ghana, Kenya, Nepal and beyond told the AP reporter they were there only because they were being paid. Later, FIVB media director Richard Baker said he will ‘seek clarification’ from the Qatari organisers. The buses were overcrowded, with no air conditioning or safety belts, and the fake fans had to wait three hours after the event before being driven back. This news comes after FIFA issued a March deadline for labour reforms following reports of human rights violations among migrants employed to work on World Cup venues. Failure to meet the deadline could see Qatar risk losing the 2022 finals.