The preparations for the 2022 World Cup, to be played in Qatar, are already proving to be a disaster in terms of labour and public relations.

An exclusive report published by The Guardian on Thursday has scrutinised the organisers for failing to provide safe working conditions for those employed in the construction of venues. Qatar won the bid in 2010 in what was a contentious vote, despite having just one world-class stadium. The country has been building 10 more new stadia and expanding two more, in the run-up to the premiere football event in the world.

With the rapid expansion, though, comes a high human cost: at least 700 migrant workers from India have died in Qatar between 2010 and 2012, and 1,460 have complained of poor working conditions in the first five months of 2013 alone. Over 1 million workers are already in Qatar and at least 1 million more are projected to be hired in the near future if the country is to finish its infrastructure in time for the 2022 event. Given the figures, Qatar stands to lose 4,000 migrant workers by 2022 if adjustments to existing labor conditions are not made.

A separate investigation conducted by the International Trade Union Confederation has revealed the appalling state of migrant workers in Qatar, including overcrowded and unsanitary quarters, endemic sickness and hunger, and the dangers of working in the infamous Qatari summer, when temperatures reach up to 50 degrees Celsius. The ITUC has also confirmed that an average of one worker dies per day. The Guardian agrees with these findings, citing the cases of 44 Nepalese workers who all died in a two-month span, half of them from workplace accidents or heart failure.

The Qatar organising committee is not taking the reports sitting down.

"We are appalled by the findings presented in the Guardian's report," a spokesman said. "We are committed to ensuring that the event serves as a catalyst toward creating sustainable improvements to the lives of all workers in Qatar."

Experts have also warned that continued poor conditions could serve as a flashpoint in Qatar's already-contentious labor environment, where almost half of the workforce come from South Asia.

"The Qataris have made them invisible in their economy but they have to make them visible. In the 21st century, labour should be treated equally to capital," an international migration scholar said.

As a result of the high temperatures during the summer, there have been talks about moving the tournament to the winter, when the climate is more tolerable. Qatar is already planning to put up green air conditioning systems in the stadia themselves, but is not able to assure tourists and spectators that the climate will be hospitable outside the match venues.