ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF MEGA SPORTING EVENTS ON MIGRANT WORKERS: A CASE OF THE 2022 FIFA WORLD CUP IN QATAR
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47604/jpcr.1141Keywords:
Migrant workers, 2022 FIFA World Cup, Mega Sporting Events, Skills Need, ChallengesAbstract
Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess the impacts of mega sporting events on migrant workers, by exploring the skills needs and the challenges faced by migrant workers, and the measures put in place to safeguard migrant workers in relation to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Methodology: The research was a case study based on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, through both descriptive and exploratory research designs. Structured questionnaires were administered to the respondents, with a sample size of 61 respondents who were randomly sampled used for data analysis for the study. Random sampling technique was used to ensure respondents from each sample comprising skilled manual workers, service workers, social workers, and managerial/professional workers were given an equal opportunity of being chosen without biased selection and representation of the target population. The quantitative data obtained was analysed using the SPSS version 25 for data analysis through the use of descriptive statistics such as percentages, which were presented using tables and charts. Further, the study variables were analysed using a regression equation.
Findings: The findings of the study indicated that there has been an influx of migrant workers since 2010 as a result of Qatar being granted the hosting rights for the FIFA 2022 World Cup. Further, the findings revealed that these migrant workers have encountered challenges while working in Qatar in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Moreover, the study found out that migrant workers' welfare had improved as a result of the measures employed by the Qatar government to safeguard their welfare.
Unique contribution to theory, policy and practice: The researcher concluded that the skills need for migrant workers, challenges faced by migrant workers and the measures employed by the Qatar government have an impact on the performance of the migrant workers as well as their welfare. Therefore, the researcher recommends a continual increase of efforts in the study objectives to set a high standard to be adopted by other countries intending to hold mega sporting events.
Downloads
References
Amnesty International. (2013).The Dark Side of Migration: Spotlight on Qatar's Construction Ahead of the World Cup. <https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/MDE22/010/2013/en/> Accessed 16 August 2020
Ashraf, I. (2016). Emerging Issues: FIFA World Cup 2022: Enjoying the Game at the Suffering of Migrant Workers. University of Baltimore Journal of International Law, 4(2), 7.
Bernhardt, A., Spiller, M. W., & Polson, D. (2013). All work and no pay: Violations of employment and labour laws in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. Social forces, 91(3), 725-746.
Boucher, A. (2019). Measuring migrant worker rights violations in practice: The example of temporary skilled visas in Australia. Journal of Industrial Relations, 61(2), 277-301.
Bretones, F. D., Jain, A., Leka, S., & GarcÃa-López, P. A. (2020). Psychosocial Working Conditions and Well-Being of Migrant Workers in Spain. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7), 2547.
Ganji, S. K. (2016). Leveraging the World Cup: Mega sporting events, human rights risk, and worker welfare reform in Qatar. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 4(4), 221-259.
Fan, C. C. (2004). The state, the migrant labour regime, and maiden workers in China. Political Geography, 23(3), 283-305.
Faras, G. (2019). Renewed Calls for Qatar to Address Treatment of Migrant Workers | Human Rights | Al Jazeera.< https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/renewed-calls-qatar-address-treatment-migrant-workers-190821050953673.html> Accessed 16 August 2020
Hare, B., Cameron, I., Real, K. J., & Maloney, W. F. (2013). Exploratory case study of pictorial aids for communicating health and safety for migrant construction workers. Journal of construction engineering and management, 139(7), 818-825.
Human Rights Watch. (2012). Building a better world cup: Protecting migrant workers in Qatar ahead of FIFA 2022. HRW. Vol. 165, 2012.
International Labour Organisation. (2018). Skills for Migration and Employment. <https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_651238.pdf> Accessed 16 August 2020
International Organization for Migration. (2017). Migrant Training. <https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/mt_infosheet_en.pdf> Accessed 16 August 2020
Jane, C., and Annie. (2016). A Study on the Internal Migrant Labour- Issues and Policies. Indian Journal of Applied Research 6, no. 4 (2016): 81-83.
Karlsson, E. (2012). Migrant Workers as Subjects of Human Rights.
Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International.
Mega Sporting Events Platform for human rights. (2018). The Mega-Sporting Event Lifecycle - Embedding Human Rights From Vision to Legacy. < https://www.ihrb.org/megasportingevents/resource-view/mse-lifecycle-embedding-human-rights-from-vision-to-legacy> Accessed 16 August 2020
Morgan, G., Lim, L., Xie, L., & Beier, J. (2012). Migrant Workers and the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar: Actions for Business.
Mugenda, O. M., & Mugenda, A. G. (2003). Quantitative and qualitative approaches.
OECD/ILO. (2018). How Immigrants Contribute to Developing Countries' Economies. How Immigrants Contribute to Developing Countries' Economies. Paris: OECD Publishing.< https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/9789264288737-en.pdf?expires=1598447349&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=1623EBB049BD8EC266024F639C8717E5> Accessed 16 August 2020
Olivier, M. (2017). Social Protection for Migrant Workers Abroad: Addressing the Deficit via Country-of-origin Unilateral Measures? Migration Research Leaders' Syndicate, 79.
Pessoa, C. (2008). The State of Migrant Workers in Qatar: The Workers' Perspective, 1-33.
Reisinger, H. (1997). The impact of research designs on R2 in linear regression models: an exploratory meta-analysis. Journal of Empirical Generalisations in Marketing Science, 2(1).
Scottish Social Services Council. (2008). Migrant Workers Research - A Report to the Scottish Social Services Council. < https://lx.iriss.org.uk/content/migrant-workers-research-report-scottish-social-services-council-2008> Accessed 16 August 2020
Snoj, J. (2014). Population of Qatar by nationality. BQ magazine, 12.
Svinicki, M. D. (2010). A guidebook on conceptual frameworks for research in engineering education. Rigorous Research in Engineering Education, 7(13), 1-53.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2017). Migration and Development: A Human Rights Approach. United Nation High Commissioner for Human Rights. < https://www.unhcr.org/en-ie/4bf644bd9.pdf> Accessed 16 August 2020
Wells, J., & Fernz, B. (2014). Improving employment standards in construction in Qatar. London: Engineers against Poverty.
Wright, C. F., & Clibborn, S. (2019). Migrant labour and low-quality work: A persistent relationship. Journal of Industrial Relations, 61(2), 157-175.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
