For the past six years, the Workers’ Cup Football Tournament is held annually to show appreciation to those who have worked tirelessly to ensure Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup is a success.

The Workers’ Cup Tournament aims to use the power of football to encourage positive social change within Qatar. Every year, workers from businesses in various commercial sectors of Qatar take the advantage of participating in the tournament to transcend the regular restraints of the working environment to challenge their colleagues and competitors.

Since the inception of the Workers’ Cup Football Tournament, Qatar Stars League (QSL) and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC)—the body tasked with the delivery of infrastructure required for the country to host the FIFA World Cup—have collaborated to engage with the football community at large and encourage all supporters and players of the beautiful game, regardless of their varying demographics, ethnicities and social standings to take part in the Workers’ Cup.

To participate, players must be employees of the participating company or approved sub-contractors of that company.

2018 saw the sixth edition of the tournament in March, as Al Nakheel Landscapes bagged the win for a second year in a row, with an audience of 7,500 spectators at the Al Duhail Stadium in Doha.

This year’s tournament saw over 640 players in 32 teams compete, with 12 of these teams representing current or former contractors on Qatar 2022 projects and seven were engaged with the SC’s flagship CSR program, Generation Amazing.

A huge crowd watched the Doha Pest Control Team face off against Al Nakheel Landscapes. Among the special guests in attendance was Barcelona legend Xavi, who currently plays for Qatar's Al Sadd club.

In his remarks after the final, Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the SC said: “It is such an honour to witness the incredible passion both on the pitch and in the stands during this tournament, which keeps getting bigger and better every year.

“Congratulations to Al Nakheel Landscapes team for a hard-earned victory. I hope them, their colleagues and everyone who’s been involved with this year’s tournament has a chance to celebrate this achievement.”

The tournament ended with the spectacular prize‐giving ceremony, concluding with Al Nakheel Landscapes lifting the champions trophy.

The Workers’ Cup is an event that throws into focus the efforts of Qatar’s government to highlight the appreciation of workers and promote their welfare.

According to the Third Annual Workers’ Welfare Progress Report, the last year marked some important milestones in this endeavor.

In 2017, there were 230 accommodation inspections, 556 ethical recruitment audits, and 2,335 worker interviews. A dedicated grievance hotline was also created, as well as Workers’ Welfare Forum elections.

Accommodation standards were improved, with 95% of SC workers now living in purpose-built housing.

The SC also planned a way to reimburse the 19 million QR in workers’ recruitment fees over the next two years.

534 health and safety inspections were conducted across 20 construction sites, with increased medical staff on all sites, baseline health checks were conducted for 100% of the workers.

The SC also explored how to protect workers with innovative cooling technology, and has continued to work with BWI and Impactt Ltd. to improve working and living conditions for Qatar’s workers.

Image credits:

Cover image - Creative Commons; inline image 1 - @roadto2022/Twitter, 2 - FIFA.com, 3 - Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy.