DOHA, Nov 19 (Reuters) – Less than three weeks before the World Cup, Qatar’s tournament security committee hired hundreds of men, some with no experience, to work as security guards tasked with crowd observation inside stadiums, two of the recruits told Reuters.
The men from countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan and Indonesia attended theoretical training at Qatar’s police college in early November, received uniforms and were deployed to stadium training sessions for the first time just days ahead of one of the world’s biggest sporting events.
Some of the recruits had security backgrounds, but there were also day labourers, drivers and office workers, one of the recruits said.
The last minute preparations highlight the logistics challenges Qatar has faced in the run-up to Sunday’s kick-off. The small Gulf state has trained more than 50,000 people to provide security for an expected wave of 1.2 million visitors from around the world.
According to one of the guards, recruits received training for up to 10 hours a day on potential crowd control issues, including how to deal with drunk people.
“We talk to them to understand their health condition. If he is okay to walk,…
