TRADE unionists were furious yesterday after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced Doha would play host to a series of Super League matches next February.

Upwards of 4,000 migrant workers are expected to die while constructing stadiums and infrastructure for the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar but the PCB has seen fit to bolster the Gulf state’s bid to become a major sporting hub.

British construction union Ucatt called for the country to be barred from holding “any major sporting event” because of Qatar’s abysmal treatment of migrant workers.

National secretary Brian Rye asked: “How can people watch and enjoy sport when workers are being treated in inhumane and slave-like conditions?

“The idea of a major cricket competition being played in Qatar is particularly sickening given that many of the migrant workers who are kept in penury come from cricket mad countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan itself.”

Pakistan announced last month that it wanted to train up 200,000 of its nationals to take part in the construction for the 2022 cup — adding to the 100,000 already working in Qatar.

Labour Minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar said Islamabad would give workers vocational training, vaccinations, security clearance and basic English lessons before they leave.

Once there, many will be forced into squalid living quarters, have their passports taken away and only be allowed to change jobs or leave Qatar with the permission of their employers.

But such abuses don’t appear to have figured in the PCB decision to relocate the Pakistan Super League to Doha after they were double-booked by the United Arab Emirates, which has played host to most PCB games since 2009.

PCB chair Najam Sethi boasted yesterday that the board was in talks with a number of commercial partners who are interested in picking up franchises.

“We have great interest being shown from broadcasters and sponsors,” he told a press conference at the Gadaffi Stadium.

Five teams will play in the 24-match tournament, which carries a prize pot of $1 million.

International Trade Union Confederation general secretary Sharan Burrow reminded Pakistan where its attention should be focused.

“If the Pakistan government is serious about responding to concerns of the thousands of Pakistani workers in Qatar it will demand a non-racial based system of wages, and fundamental labour rights for workers in Qatar,” she said.

“Pakistan must also ensure that any agreement for Qatar to host the PSL guarantees access for Asian migrant workers to the matches.”

The PCB did not respond to the Star’s request for comment.