The World Cup is over but Amnesty International is continuing to shed light on the plight of Qatar’s migrant workers. The charity has created a free mod for EA’s FIFA 23 game that lets you deck out your World Cup team in a special kit dedicated to the unsung labourers that toiled to make the tournament a reality.
For the uninitiated, mods are add-ons typically created by users to alter PC games through the introduction of new features, such as changes to the environment, the addition of new quests, or improvements including bug fixes. They can normally be found on video game stores like Steam and on specialist modding sites like Nexus Mods.
Amnesty, however, is using its FIFA 23 mod to keep the spotlight on World Cup host Qatar’s human rights abuses. The charity told the Evening Standard that the add-on is a “guerilla stunt” created as “a tribute to all the construction workers who gave their lives for the World Cup”.
It’s no surprise then that the new feature is not officially endorsed by EA, the video game company behind the popular footy title, or World Cup organiser FIFA.
This year’s tournament delivered plenty of fireworks, including a thrilling final between Argentina and France, but it was almost overshadowed by scrutiny of Qatar’s human rights track record. Under intense media pressure, the country’s World Cup chief admitted that between 400 and 500 migrant workers had died as a result of work done on projects connected to the tournament.
Previous estimates place the figure much higher, with a report by the Guardian newspaper last year stating that 6,500 migrant workers had died in Qatar since it was awarded the World Cup in 2010. The low-paid labourers, who helped to construct the stadiums and hotels that were central to the tournament’s staging, came from developing nations such as Bangladesh, India, Nepal and the Philippines.
Amid the negative attention, Qatar’s government previously said it would scrap its criticised “kafala” system, under which sponsored workers entered the country but were then prevented from leaving their jobs. However, Amnesty claims that migrant labourers are still being treated unfairly and are unable to access Qatar’s compensation processes.
You can download the Forgotten Team mod and install it by following the accompanying instructions. The FIFA 23 add-on is part of Amnesty’s Forgotten Team social media campaign that includes celebs such as M.I.A, Will Young, ex-Lioness Anita Asante, Benjamin Zephaniah and influencer Scott McGlynn. Twitch streamer Diogo Esteves will also showcase the kit as part of a FIFA 23 livestream on December 20. Amnesty is encouraging people to donate to the cause, with proceeds going to migrant workers’ families.
