Moving the goalposts in Qatar: Tracing the labour reform process by and through transnational players.

This article examines the process by which Qatar undertook significant reforms to its labour laws, historically restrictive of the rights and freedoms of its majority migrant workforce, in the lead-up to hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It argues that the tournament acted as a catalyst for change by creating political opportunities that were effectively leveraged by a transnational social movement, notably the global labour movement including the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Building and Woodworkers International (BWI). Using political process theory and process tracing methodology, the article details how coordinated campaigns, legal complaints to the International Labour Organization (ILO), and multi-actor strategies pressured Qatar and FIFA to implement landmark legal, policy, and institutional reforms between 2018 and 2021, including dismantling the Kafala sponsorship system and establishing worker protections. The study highlights the unique challenges posed by Qatar's hostile institutional environment—characterized by restrictive labour laws, limited civil society, and media constraints—and underscores the role of external actors in driving reform. It also notes that while these reforms represent significant progress, the sustainability of improvements in migrant workers' rights post-World Cup remains uncertain.