Sunday 1 April 2018 18:53, UK
Migrant workers building World Cup stadiums in Qatar are in line to receive £3.5m in compensation.
Qatar World Cup organisers say the pay-out will be made after recruitment fees were demanded to secure employment in the Gulf nation.
The announcement highlights ongoing concerns about the exploitation of workers, many of them drawn from South Asian nations including India and Nepal, who are relied on to prepare Qatar for the FIFA tournament in 2022.
World Cup organising committee secretary general Hassan Al Thawadi acknowledged on Sunday that "all too often, the very people who have left their homes to provide for their families are the ones exploited."
Al Thawadi says his organising committee and contractors "have agreed on a mechanism to ensure that our workers are reimbursed for the hardships they may have endured when coming to Qatar to work."
Organizers say 12 million Qatari riyals ($5.2 million) in compensation will be paid to workers from companies over the next two years.
Amnesty International complained last year that migrant workers employed on World Cup construction sites in Qatar had suffered abuse and exploitation.
