The human rights organisation has released a 74-page report, called "They Think That We’re Machines" that documents the experiences of 34 current or former employees of eight private security firms in Qatar.

After interviewing migrant workers between April 2021 and February 2022, Amnesty International reported that among the accusations included employees being forced to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week "often for months or even years on end without a day off".

It claimed that workers who took their day off faced being punished with arbitrary wage deductions.

"They say at the job you have a lunch break of one hour, but we don’t have one and they don’t pay you," said Lawrence from Kenya in Amnesty International’s report.

"They say Friday is an off day, but it is an off day that you don’t have.

"You cannot complain - if you do you are terminated and deported."

According to Amnesty International, some guards reported being "heavily financially penalised" for misdemeanours such as not wearing their uniform properly or for leaving their post to use the toilet without someone to cover for them.

Other complaints included working in intense heat for "long periods" and receiving lower wages than other guards based on their race, national origin and language.

Amnesty International discovered that 15 guards who were interviewed were routinely deployed outside in sweltering conditions, including during summer months when outdoor working is supposed to be restricted, and in some cases with no shelter or drinking water.

The report builds on interviews carried out between 2017 and 2018 with 25 security guards, resulting in Amnesty International claiming that the "consistency of their accounts across multiple companies indicates that these abuses are systemic".

Human rights concerns have dominated the build-up to the FIFA World Cup which is scheduled to take place in Qatar from November 21 to December 18.

Stephen Cockburn, head of economic and social justice for Amnesty International, has called on FIFA to ensure Qatari authorities fulfil a programme of labour reforms.

"Employers are still exploiting their workers in plain sight, and the Qatari authorities must take urgent measures to protect workers and hold abusers accountable," said Cockburn.

"Many of the security guards we spoke to knew their employers were breaking the law but felt powerless to challenge them.

"Physically and emotionally exhausted, workers kept reporting for duty under threat of financial penalties - or worse, contract termination or deportation.

"Despite the progress Qatar has made in recent years, our research suggests that abuses in the private security sector - which will be increasingly in demand during the World Cup - remain systematic and structural.

"With the World Cup just months away, FIFA must focus on doing more to prevent abuses in the inherently perilous private security sector, or see the tournament further marred by abuse.

"More broadly, FIFA must also use its leverage to pressure Qatar to better implement its reforms and enforce its laws. 

"Time is fast running out - if better practices are not established now, abuses will continue long after fans have gone home."

Amnesty International said it had not named the eight companies in its report due to the "risk of high-profile clients terminating their involvement at short notice" but claimed that it had provided details to Qatar’s Ministry of Labour, FIFA and Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy.

In response, Qatar’s Ministry of Labour accused Amnesty International’s report of "selectively" highlighting "a small number of cases where violations persist" and claimed that the organisation "ignores the positive impact of Qatar’s reforms across the whole population".

"Once again, Amnesty does not draw attention to the thousands of success stories that serve as proof of Qatar’s progress," a statement from the Qatar’s Ministry of Labour read.

"Qatar has taken immediate action to remedy individual cases of wrongdoing, but these cases do not represent an underlying fault with the robust labour system now in place."

FIFA insisted that it "does not accept any abuse of workers" and was "steadfast in its commitment to ensure respect for internationally recognised human rights across all its operations and events".

"We see a good level of commitment and collaboration by many service companies and the [audit and inspection] programme has already now had tangible benefits for thousands of workers," the statement from FIFA read.

"At the same time, we refuse to work with companies who fail to show commitment to live up to the FIFA World Cup standards and do not shy away from taking strong measures against such companies in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour."

"As part of its regular and ongoing engagement with Amnesty International in relation to the upcoming World Cup, FIFA has provided detailed information about the cases mentioned in their report and the corrective measures that have been applied with the companies involved."

The Danish Football Association has vowed to highlight human rights issues during the World Cup, including displaying messages on its training kit in Qatar.

Players from The Netherlands and Germany wore shirts during qualification matches last year to highlight issues surrounding migrant rights.

Amnesty International's full report can be found here.