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Qatar Migrant Workers Being Paid Small Sums To Act As 'Fans,' Fill Venues At Sporting Events

Migrant workers in 2022 World Cup host Qatar were "fighting to earn a few dollars," according to John Leicester of the AP. The job: "pretend to be a sports fan." Qataris boast that they are "mad for sports." The ruling emir of the oil-and-gas rich Gulf nation is "so fond of football" he bought Paris St. Germain, now France's "powerhouse team." Lobbying FIFA in '10, his royal mother said: "For us, football is not just a mere game or a sport among many. It is THE sport." Qatar bid presenter Aphrodite Moschoudi said, "Qatar has a true passion for sports." Or, "when passion is lacking, around money." When the world's second-richest people per capita cannot find time or be bothered to fill their sports arenas, "migrant workers are paid to take their place." For 30 Qatar riyals -- equivalent to $8 -- workers from Africa and Asia "sprint under blinding sun" in the Doha industrial zone where they are housed and surround a still-moving bus like "bees on honey." They sit through volleyball, handball and football, "applaud to order, do the wave with no enthusiasm and even dress up in white robes and headscarves as Qataris, to plump up 'home' crowds." The Int'l Volleyball Federation (FIVB) "trumpeted on its website that the tournament, part of its World Tour, 'brought out the crowds.'" But migrants from Ghana, Kenya, Nepal and elsewhere said that they were "there for money, not volleyball" (AP, 12/17).

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