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Amnesty International appealed to football’s highest governing body
Published on November 11, 2024 at 6:30 pm
Saudi Arabia wants to host the 2034 World Cup Credit: Disclosure/SAFF
Amnesty International appealed to FIFA this Monday. The entity, in partnership with the Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA), asked that the highest governing body of world football not confirm Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2034 World Cup, unless the country reviews its laws and demonstrates respect for rights humans.
According to the schedule announced months ago, FIFA should make Saudi Arabia official as the host of the future World Cup at its Congress, in December. At the same event, Morocco, Spain and Portugal will be confirmed as the 2030 hosts – this World Cup will have its first games being played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
“There will be a real and predictable human cost to awarding the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without obtaining credible guarantees of reform,” said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty’s head of labor rights and sport, in a report on Monday.
“Fans will face discrimination, residents will be forcibly evicted, migrant workers will face exploitation and many will die. FIFA must halt the process until adequate human rights protections are in place to avoid worsening an already dire situation.”
The two entities also demanded that FIFA be more demanding in terms of human rights also with the main hosts of the 2030 World Cup: Morocco, Spain and Portugal. “FIFA must also demand much more credible strategies and binding commitments to prevent human rights violations in relation to the 2030 World Cup. Morocco, Portugal and Spain have not yet adequately explained how players and fans will be protected from discriminatory abuse, what measures will taken to prevent excessive use of police force or how residents’ housing rights will be safeguarded.”
In June of this year, Amnesty International and the SRA delved deeper into the episodes that underlie their charges in a 91-page report. In the document, the entities detail the human rights risks related to the two future editions of the World Cup, in 2030 and 2034 – before, in 2026, the World Cup will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
In response, FIFA stated that it will reveal the content of its reports, in which they evaluate all candidates to host the World Cup, before its Congress. “FIFA is implementing full bid processes for the 2030 and 2034 editions of the World Cup,” a FIFA spokesperson said.
