“Used, abused and deported: migrant workers land back in Bangladesh after Saudi dreams turn sour”

…Nearly 70,000 Bangladeshi migrant workers were deported from the Gulf kingdom in 2022, mostly for not having a valid residence permit…

They return from one of the wealthiest countries in the world, hungry, traumatised and without even the money to buy a bus ticket home.

The only thing the men do bring back are horrific stories of abuse, false contracts and wage theft that tumble angrily out of them. One man, Amir Hossein, says he paid recruitment agents 400,000 taka (£2,860) to get to Saudi Arabia…

Saudi Arabia will rely on tens of thousands of low-wage labourers such as these to deliver its dream of hosting the 2034 World Cup. The pipeline of workers from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia is expected to increase dramatically if the country is anointed host by Fifa…

Human rights groups are warning that if Saudi Arabia does not make drastic efforts to stop the abuse of migrant workers, which is already widespread in the Gulf kingdom, another World Cup tournament could be tainted with suffering…

Fifa and the Bangladesh government did not respond to multiple requests for comment…