A decision to grant Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup is expected to lead to serious human rights concerns, including discrimination against fans, forced evictions of residents, and the exploitation of migrant workers. This is the finding of a new report from Amnesty International and the Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA). The organizations are urging FIFA to halt the process of selecting Saudi Arabia as the host unless the 211 national football associations announce significant reforms before the vote next month.
FIFA awarded the 2030 World Cup to Morocco, Spain, and Portugal, while naming Saudi Arabia as the sole bidder for the 2034 tournament in October of last year. The bid has faced criticism for being closed to other nations and for allowing only one month for expressions of interest before the November deadline.
The groups argue that the Independent Context Assessment that each bidding nation must submit to FIFA includes significant gaps, omitting analysis of the country’s record on freedom of expression, LGBTQI+ discrimination, prohibition of trade unions, and forced evictions. They also highlight the failure to address key labor issues, including the abuse of migrant workers in the Kingdom, which is linked to low wages and high rates of workplace accidents.
Across the Middle East, members of national, ethnic, and religious communities and minorities face entrenched discrimination in law and practice, often with severe consequences. In the case of Saudi Arabia, this is reflected in the criminalization of same-sex sexual acts, which has led to the imprisonment of many activists and human rights defenders. In addition, the countries’ repressive laws restrict women’s rights and allow male guardians to control their lives.
The reports also cite evidence of the abuse of migrant workers by employers, which is exacerbated by a lack of enforcement of labor laws. In Saudi Arabia, a lack of enforcement and the widespread use of abusive ‘kafala’ arrangements put migrant workers at risk of being exploited by unscrupulous employers. Migrants in Morocco and Spain are also at risk of exploitation, with the authors of the Amnesty and SRA reports pointing to data showing that accident rates in construction projects are significantly higher than in the European average.
Amnesty and SRA have written to FIFA’s Council, responsible for approving the host countries at an extraordinary Congress meeting in December, to express their concern about the bid and urge that the decision be postponed until the Saudis have developed a more credible human rights strategy. The groups also call on FIFA to award either bid conditional on developing a more comprehensive strategy for both the 2026 and 2034 tournaments. Amnesty’s report, produced with research support from FairSquare, analyses the bidding nations’ proposals and compares them to FIFA’s requirements for human rights assessments. It is available here. FairSquare is a non-profit organization that supports labor standards in the global sports industry. Its work is based on the belief that sport is at its best when played moderately and with dignity.
