Global: Confirmation of Saudi Arabia as 2034 FIFA World Cup host puts many lives at risk

Following today’s confirmation of Saudi Arabia as hosts of the 2034 World Cup at FIFA’s Extraordinary Congress, 21 organizations have published a joint statement condemning the move as a “moment of great danger” for human rights.

Signatories include Saudi diaspora human rights organizations, migrant workers’ groups from Nepal and Kenya, international trade unions, fans’ representatives and global human rights organizations.

Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Labour Rights and Sport, said:

“FIFA’s reckless decision to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without ensuring adequate human rights protections are in place will put many lives at risk. Based on clear evidence to date, FIFA knows workers will be exploited and even die without fundamental reforms in Saudi Arabia, and yet has chosen to press ahead regardless. The organization risks bearing a heavy responsibility for many of the human rights abuses that will follow.

FIFA knows workers will be exploited and even die without fundamental reforms in Saudi Arabia, and yet has chosen to press ahead regardless.

Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Labour Rights and Sport

“At every stage of this bidding process, FIFA has shown its commitment to human rights to be a sham. Meanwhile, its continued failure to compensate migrant workers who were exploited in Qatar provides scant confidence that lessons have been learned. FIFA must urgently change course and ensure that the World Cup is accompanied by wide-ranging reforms in Saudi Arabia, or risk a decade of exploitation, discrimination and repression connected to its flagship tournament.

“FIFA’s flawed bidding process was also evident in the awarding of the 2030 World Cup, with significant human rights risks being left unaddressed. From excessive policing and forced evictions to workers’ rights and legalized discrimination, there remains a huge amount to do to ensure the 2030 tournament can be enjoyed by everyone in full respect of their rights.” 

Lina Alhathloul, Head of Monitoring and Advocacy, ALQST for Human Rights, a Saudi diaspora human rights organization, said:

“It’s disheartening, if not surprising, that FIFA has awarded Mohammed bin Salman’s Saudi Arabia hosting rights for the World Cup based on a heavily flawed bid, which side-stepped engagement with external stakeholders or the Saudi public themselves. Now it’s happened, urgent and sustained action is needed to mitigate the grave risks of labour and civil rights violations associated with the tournament, including by securing major and credible reforms.”

Bhim Shrestha, Co-founder of Shramik Sanjal, a worker-led network of migrant workers based in Nepal, said:

“We, the migrant workers, endure severe exploitation, and our vulnerability is often overlooked. Our lives matter – we fear for the lives of thousands of our migrant brothers and sisters who are at risk. FIFA must not turn a blind eye; the lives of migrants demand accountability and justice.”

Background

On 11 November, Amnesty International and the Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) called on FIFA to halt the vote to award the 2034 World Cup, following a detailed analysis of the human rights risks in the country and major gaps in the human rights strategy proposed by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. The organizations also called on FIFA to ensure a far more meaningful human rights strategy was developed for the 2030 tournament in Morocco, Portugal and Spain. The analysis built on a detailed risk assessment of both tournaments produced by Amnesty International and the SRA, which was published in June.

On 29 November, Amnesty International criticized FIFA’s evaluation of Saudi Arabia’s bid as “an astonishing whitewash”, as well as its failure to compensate migrant workers involved in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, ignoring  the recommendations of an independent report commissioned by FIFA.