An estimated 4,000 workers could die in Qatar before the 2022 World Cup
To any soccer fan who has been following the practices of FIFA throughout the past decade, it's no surprise that the world's governing soccer organization is terribly corrupt. It's a little more surprising, however, that FIFA is finally being held accountable — to the tune of $150 million and charges of bribery, fraud, and racketeering.
"On the surface, it's just another white collar crime story: rich, powerful men making themselves richer and more powerful," says Christopher Ingraham at The Washington Post. "But a closer look suggests that there is a lot of real-world suffering happening as a direct result of FIFA's decisions." Ingraham put together a fascinating chart that maps out the estimated human toll of building the stadiums and facilities necessary to hold the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, and the result is startling:
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While Ingraham's graphic is an estimate (he explains how he arrived at this comparison here), this rough approximation of the potentially World Cup-related deaths of migrant workers in Qatar is undoubtedly shocking. Even worse, the Post points out that the International Trade Union Confederation estimates that in addition to 1,200 migrant worker deaths so far, up to 4,000 additional workers could die in Qatar in the run up to the 2022 World Cup.
For a full explanation of how Ingraham arrived at these bleak estimates, head over to The Washington Post.
