Away from Doha’s plush hotels and sprawling new World Cup stadiums, scores of South Asian workers flocked to a cricket pitch on the city’s sandy outskirts to enjoy the tournament they helped create.
And unlike the official FIFA fan zone near Doha’s Corniche, this one doesn’t have $14 beers or foreign tourists. There are few food options other than fried Indian snacks, football jerseys and even fewer women.
Instead, the Asian city’s grass pitch was packed with migrant workers from some of the world’s poorest countries watching the World Cup. The city is one of the labor camps and the efforts of its inhabitants have helped build the World Cup stadiums.
The conditions of the workers were the most controversial issue in Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup. They suffered from low wages, rudimentary housing and long working hours, often in scorching heat.
But on a Friday night, as the Netherlands played Ecuador, workers crowded the cricket ground on a weekday weekend.
The lucky ones received a small number of World Cup tickets which went on sale for just 40 riyals ($10), a cheaper category of tickets especially for Qatari residents. But for those who can’t afford to go to the glitzy stadiums, the giant screens of the Asian city have become a refuge.
“I keep 400 riyals ($109) a month in my pocket,” said Anmol Singh, an electrician, who sends the rest of his $600 salary to his parents and grandparents in Bihar in eastern India. ?”
And while the wages of migrant workers in Qatar and the oil-rich Gulf states are meager by Western standards, they often exceed what they could earn at home and serve as lifelines for their families in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Fanzone workers who spoke to an Associated Press reporter on Friday said they wanted their jobs in the country, which has strict parole laws.
Kaplana Pahadi, a 21-year-old cleaner from Nepal, wandered the busy cricket ground with three colleagues she called “my family”.
Wearing a Qatari T-shirt, scarf and brown hat, she said she moved to the gas-rich emirate more than four years ago to pay for medical bills for her mother, who developed heart problems after her father died. “She’s always sick,” she said. “I want to help her.”
In the second half, the stadium became a stage for Indian pop music and dance.
A few men hoisted themselves onto the shoulders of their friends, hundreds whipped out their phones to film, and smiles spread. It was a respite from the hard days of work.
“These are corporate people doing hard work,” said Imtiaz Malik, a 28-year-old IT worker from Pakistan.
He said he misses his family in Lahore, Pakistan and wishes he could hear their voices more often. He said that despite the difficulties, Qatar has also become his home.
“This country just got better,” he said.
The atmosphere of the World Cup forced Qatar to reform the labor system. The country abolished the sponsorship system that ties workers’ visas to their jobs and set a minimum wage of 1,000 riyals ($275) a month, among other changes. However, human rights groups argue that more needs to be done, at a time when workers may face wage arrears and go into debt to pay exorbitant hiring fees.
Imran Khan, 28, said many young people in his hometown of Kolkata, India dream of working in Qatar. He left his parents and siblings to find a job in hospitality during the World Cup. But he still hasn’t found a job.
He said the competition is fierce after the tournament begins. Meanwhile, he spends his days watching matches on the big screens at the cricket ground next to the mall.
The fan zone allows Khan and many other migrant workers to enjoy the World Cup atmosphere within walking distance of their homes. It also means they won’t take the bus to downtown Doha, which is now filled with foreign fans watching matches and celebrating.