ABOUT CARDS OF QATAR

Since Qatar was awarded the World Cup, thousands of migrant workers have died or gotten injured in Qatar. The reportage series Cards of Qatar by investigative journalism platform Blankspot shows the reality behind the statistics.

In a catalogue of football cards facts about the players have been exchanged for the deceased migrant workers and their fate.At the launch of Cards of Qatar 33 dead migrant workers from rural Nepal, Bangladesh and India are published. Their relatives have told Blankspot the real story of their close ones. We will publish more cards until kick off in November 2022.

“These workers are not just statistics. Their stories need to be heard. At first glance, everything from the portraits, the glossy surface, and the packaging creates the impression of authentic football cards. But at a closer look, the portraits and stories belong to migrant workers in Qatar, each with an unfiltered story,” says Martin Schibbye, chief editor and co-founder of Blankspot.  

The cards ar complemented by long-form articles and interviews with players, politicians and workers’ organizations.

Blankspot is a Sweden based investigative journalism platform founded 2015. Our aim is to tell the untold stories: putting the overlooked corners of the world under the looking glass.

Together with a team of local journalists in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh we started collecting stories of migrant workers directly from the families and widows they left behind.

The interviews with families in Nepal have been done by Udwab Bhatterai and Martin Schibbye. Somya Lakhani has worked with contacting families in India, Muslima Jahan Setu and Mohammed Owasim Uddin Bhuyan have done interviews in Bangladesh.

Got a confidential tip? We are searching for more stories on migrant workers that have deceased while working in Qatar. Please use digital messages or by postal letters. Use Signal, a free and open source messaging app that offers end-to-end encryption to send messages, photos, videos and calls or send us a letter. Postal address: Cards of Qatar, Blankspot Project, Wallingatan 37, 111 24 Stockholm, Sweden.

Editor in chief and co-founder: Martin Schibbye

PR & Communication and co-founder: Brit Stakston, phone: +46733833366

Mail: CardsofQatar

The reportage series Cards of Qatar is produced by Blankspot in a unique collaboration with the football app Forza Football and the creative collective Forsman & Bodenfors.

Two years ago Blankspot presented the idea of telling the story of the migrant workers of Qatar through football cards to the app Forza Football. They shared Blankspots vision of how the cards would help to visualize the working conditions of migrant workers and could be a powerful tool in the hands of all football fans. 

They want to make the football world better by promoting human rights in their work and wanted to be part of this. Forza will be able to engage their users all over the world with the help of our journalism.

Forsman & Bodenfors later came on board and worked on the design, that not only bears a striking resemblance to the classic collectable football cards that young people have collected for generations but also visually presents these people with the dignity they deserve.

Blankspot is proud to present the following media partners to Cards of Qatar from Germany, Sweden and the Check Republic. Would your media outlet like to publish these stories? We welcome more media partners from around the world.

If you would like to become a media partner and get access to our coming journalism on the issue of migrant workers in Qatar please contact us. We are welcoming more media partners all over the world to give a voice to thr migrant workers, if interested please contact Brit Stakston, co-founder of Blankspot.

AGoodId
New Land – director Olivia Kastenbring and producer Erik Torell
Photographer Pelle Bergström / Skarp Agent
Producer Andrea Hasselrot / Skarp Agent
Post Production Jenny Grip
Digi Tech Julius Bohlin
Profilskaparen AB
Stream Nordic AB
F&B Studios