ABUSED migrant workers forced to work on Qatar’s World Cup stadiums are forced to live “in squalid camps in the desert” and “paid a pittance,” according to an Amnesty International report published yesterday.

The 52-page document has case studies from 132 construction workers, who work on the Khalifa International Stadium, as well as 99 migrants doing landscaping work in a surrounding sports complex.

Qatar has refused to drop the kafala system, which sees workers forced to pay recruitment fees, have their passports confiscated, go without pay and risk their health and safety.

Qatar’s population of 2 million is almost entirely made up of migrant wokers, mostly from Asia.

Workers told investigators of systematic abuses, in some cases forced labour, with one in particular describing his life as “like a prison.”

Amnesty International secretary general Salil Shetty said: “The abuse of migrant workers is a stain on the conscience of world football. For players and fans, a World Cup stadium is a place of dreams. For some of the workers who spoke to us, it can feel like a living nightmare.

“Indebted, living in squalid camps in the desert, paid a pittance, the lot of migrant workers contrasts sharply to that of the top-flight footballers who will play in the stadium.

“All workers want are their rights: to be paid on time, leave the country if need be and be treated with dignity and respect.

“Despite five years of promises, Fifa has failed almost completely to stop the World Cup being built on human rights abuses.

“Hosting the World Cup has helped Qatar promote itself as an elite destination to some of the world’s biggest clubs.

“But world football cannot turn a blind eye to abuse in the facilities and stadiums where the game is played.”

The workers, mostly from Bangladesh, India and Nepal, spoke to Amnesty in Qatar between February and May last year and when the organisation returned last month, though some workers had moved to better living conditions, other human rights abuses had not been addressed.

“My life here is like a prison,” said a metal worker from Nepal. “The work is difficult, we worked for many hours in the hot sun.

“When I first complained about my situation, soon after arriving in Qatar, the manager said: ‘If you [want to] complain you can but there will be consequences. If you want to stay in Qatar be quiet and keep working’.”

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) issued an ultimatum last month to Qatar to “end the use of modern slavery” and overhaul its workers’ rights laws or else face a international inquiry into the shocking conditions in the Gulf monarchy.