Fifa accused again over human rights risks in Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid

Fifa has been accused for a second time of failing to engage with concerns over human rights risks in Saudi Arabia, two months before the Gulf state is expected to be confirmed as a World Cup host.

The Building and Wood Workers’ International, a trade union that has worked with Fifa on governance reforms and previously signed a memorandum of understanding with the governing body, says it has been ignored in attempts to discuss the exploitation of foreign workers in Saudi.

In June the BWI submitted a complaint to the International Labour Organisation which claimed “an epidemic of abuses” against migrant workers in the Gulf kingdom. Among the examples cited was the case of thousands of Filipino workers who are said to be waiting for financial remedy from the Saudi state after they were denied wages, often over periods of years, by their former employers. The BWI says numerous subsequent requests to Fifa “to engage in dialogue about these abuses and to set stringent conditions for hosting” have not been taken up.

Ambet Yuson, the BWI general secretary, sat on Fifa’s human rights advisory board until it was dissolved in 2020. He has accused Fifa of conducting a bidding process “without any robust assessment” and said awarding the World Cup to Saudi risked a “permanent stain” in the world of sport.

“Rewarding Saudi Arabia with the 2034 Fifa World Cup without any robust assessment and any mechanisms in place to prevent further abuses, is to endorse exploitation and injustice on a global stage,” Yuson said.

“Whilst no credible assessment of the Saudis’ human rights plans can be made without input from independent organisations on the ground, Fifa must immediately take responsibility and use its leverage to ensure justice for the thousands of workers who have been denied their most basic rights for more than a decade. The time for action is now – before any decision is finalised and injustice becomes a permanent stain in the world of sport.”

The BWI’s intervention comes less than two weeks after a group of leading lawyers said Fifa had failed to engage with them over a legal submission regarding human rights in the kingdom. The group, which included a former chair of Fifa’s independent governance committee, said the response was “simply not good enough” and argued Fifa was “dealing with the devil” in taking the tournament to the kingdom.

The BWI’s complaint to the International Labour Organisation recorded human rights abuses against 21,000 migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, including workers from the Philippines, Nepal, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh who have worked on building Saudi’s infrastructure.

The trade union says responses to complaints by the Saudi government have been slow. It cites the example of 8,830 Filipino workers at the now-liquidated Saudi Oger company who went without wages, according to workers’ testimony, sometimes for years. The BWI says only 1,352 have been compensated for the losses and others have been forced to take out loans to cover household expenses.

In December Fifa is expected to confirm that Saudi Arabia, the only bidders, will win the right to host the 2034 World Cup. The governing body is compiling “bid evaluation reports” that are to be published before the decision. One of the three central components of the evaluation is a “risk report” which, among other criteria, assesses sustainability and human rights.

The BWI argues that with trade unions and foreign non-governmental organisations banned in Saudi Arabia it is vital for Fifa to take into account any submissions that give a picture of life on the ground in the country. Article 7 of Fifa’s human rights policy says: “Fifa will constructively engage with the relevant authorities and other stakeholders and make every effort to uphold its international human rights responsibilities.”

Fifa and the Saudi ministry of human resources and social development have been approached for comment.