First Saudi World Cup worker death brings heartbreak to Pakistan

A Pakistani foreman has reportedly died while working on a new stadium in Saudi Arabia being built for the 2034 World Cup, which is set to take place in the oil-rich Gulf nation.

Muhammed Arshad allegedly fell to his death while working at an upper level of the Aramco Stadium, located in the eastern city of Al Khobar, according to reports.

Citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the incident, The Guardian reported that Arshad died on 12 March, becoming the first migrant worker to be killed while working on World Cup stadiums in the country. 

The New Arab has yet to independently verify Arshad’s death or the length of his employment at the stadium. 

Social media posts before Arshad’s death revealed that Arshad had been working at the site since September of the previous year.

In a statement to The Guardian, Belgian construction company Besix Group confirmed Arshad’s death.

The company, whose subsidiary Six Construct is one of the leading contractors at the stadium, explained that “a team of three workers was engaged in formwork operations [creating moulds for concrete] at height when the platform they were working on tilted.”.

“While all three were equipped with personal fall-arrest systems, one worker was not connected to an anchor point at the time of the incident and fell, sustaining severe injuries.” 

According to Besix’s account, emergency services were called, but “the worker sadly succumbed to his injuries in hospital”.

The company emphasised that other employees were “asked not to share images of the consequences of the tragic accident on social media”, while another unnamed source told the British news outlet that workers were instructed to delete any footage of the incident and refrain from speaking about it. 

Arshad’s family said that his body was flown back to Pakistan on Tuesday, with his loved ones are grappling with the sudden loss. 

Arshad was a father of three young boys and the sole breadwinner for his family, who worked to cover his sons’ school tuition fees. 

Arshad’s father, Muhammad Bashir, said he was yet to receive an official notification from his employer, but was informed by a relative working in Saudi Arabia that his family would receive Arshad’s remaining salary and benefits. 

News of his death follows longstanding concerns among rights groups over the working conditions of migrant workers at World Cup construction sites. 

Following Saudi Arabia’s selection as the host country by FIFA last December, work began on 11 venues for the World Cup, which has faced growing opposition from activist groups. 

Last December, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report accusing Saudi Arabia of perpetuating labour abuses against its workers, adding that FIFA’s designation of the kingdom as World Cup host “will be stained with pervasive rights violations”.

“Human Rights Watch has found, based on interviews with 156 current and former workers from Saudi Arabia or workers’ family members between 2023-2024, that migrant workers are facing widespread labour abuses across employment sectors and geographic regions,” the organisation stressed. 

“Saudi authorities are systematically failing to protect them from and remedy these abuses.”

HRW further pointed out that the “FIFA World Cup is just one of the significant planned projects requiring massive construction under Vision 2030“.

According to the ITV documentary ‘Kingdom Uncovered: Inside Saudi Arabia’, released in November 2024, over 21,000 Indian, Bangladeshi, and Nepalese workers allegedly died in Saudi Arabia between 2017 and 2024 while working on the country’s Vision 2030, which focuses on diversifying the Saudi economy. 

Workers spoke about 16-hour workdays and poor working conditions at The Line, a 500 metre tall mirrored linear city that is now said to span approximately 2.4 kilometres across the desert.

The project reportedly employs a migrant workforce of around 140,000. 

Saudi authorities have consistently denied these claims, arguing that the death toll of migrant workers is far lower than speculated. They further maintain that the kingdom has one of the lowest rates of migrant worker deaths globally.