Pride and poverty: Qatar’s World Cup fever tempered by legacy of labour abuses

With a year to go, the new stadiums, hotels and roads are finished and locals are excited, but the low-paid workers who built them are ambivalent

When asked if he's looking forward to the World Cup, Mohamed, an Indian salesman, grins as he casts his fishing line off the promenade in the heart of Qatar's capital, Doha. Very much," he says. I love cricket!"

With a year to go to until the football World Cup kicks off, Mohamed's response may have the event's organisers worried. After all, about 70% of Qatar's population are from the cricket-loving subcontinent.