Amnesty International has expressed concern over Saudi Arabia's hosting of the 2034 World Cup specifically due its migrant worker rights
The New Arab Staff & Agencies
11 December, 2024
Aaudi Arabia has been given the green light to host the 2024 FIFA World Cup, despite concerns over human rights [Getty/file photo]
Rights organisations strongly criticised FIFA on Wednesday after the world footballing ruling body officially awarded the 2034 men's World Cup to Saudi Arabia.
Hosting the global showpiece tournament is the pinnacle of Saudi Arabia's massive push into sports and entertainment over recent years as it seeks to improve its international image.
"FIFA's reckless decision will put many lives at risk," Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International's Head of Labour Rights and Sport, said in a statement issued by 21 bodies.
They included Saudi diaspora human rights organisations, migrant workers' groups from Nepal and Kenya, international trade unions, fans' representatives and global human rights organisations.
"FIFA knows workers will be exploited and even die without fundamental reforms in Saudi Arabia, and yet has chosen to press ahead regardless," the statement added.
Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in sport, revamping its domestic football league by signing global superstars such as Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazil's Neymar.
The kingdom's Public Investment fund (PIF) acquired English Premier League club Newcastle United and founded the LIV Golf tour, challenging the US-based PGA Tour's dominance.
Saudi Arabia this year hosted the season-ending tennis WTA Finals for the first time.
It has also invested in sports such as boxing as it continues its metamorphosis into a tourism hub as part of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's Vision 2030 economic transformation programme.
FIFA gave the bid a high technical score, a move Amnesty called an "astonishing whitewash" of the country's human rights record.
Saudi Arabia has banned labour unions, does not have a minimum wage for migrant workers, and enforces the "kafala" system of foreign labourer sponsorship.
Kafala binds migrant workers to one employer and prevents them from leaving the kingdom without the employer's approval. Rights groups say it leaves workers vulnerable to exploitation.
Saudi Arabia denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws.
The Saudi government communications office, the country's football association and FIFA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The head of the Saudi World Cup bid unit told Reuters last week that the kingdom had launched several initiatives to safeguard workers' rights as part of Vision 2030.
"Now employees have the freedom of choice to move from one employer to the other," Hammad Albalawi said.
"A month and a half ago, the government announced a new insurance policy, meaning that if any company goes into bankruptcy, the government can step in and ensure workers are paid their dues."
There were 13.4 million expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia in 2022, the last time a census was conducted, accounting for 42 percent of the population.
Extreme heat
The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre said one stadium under construction for the tournament had been linked to alleged exploitative labour of 10-hour shifts in extreme heat.
"FIFA, its sponsors, and multinational companies have a legal and ethical responsibility to respect human rights," said Phil Bloomer, BHRRC Executive Director.
FIFA came under similar criticism from rights groups for awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.
An Amnesty report in 2021 said practices such as withholding salaries and charging workers to change jobs were rife in the 2022 World Cup host nation.
Qatari authorities said the criticism was unfair and misinformed, pointing to labour law reforms enacted since 2018 and accusing critics of racism and double standards.
Asked on Wednesday what lessons the Saudi bid team had learned from Qatar, the kingdom's sports minister Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal told Reuters that tournament had given them "a good insight on what needs to be done properly".
"I think controversy will happen in anything you do and we've learned a lot from their experience," he said.
FIFA also confirmed on Wednesday that the 2030 World Cup would be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
Joint Statement:
Award of 2034 Men's World Cup to Saudi Arabia Risks Lives and Exposes
Today’s confirmation of Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 FIFA men’s World Cup, despite the well-known and severe risks to residents, migrant workers and visiting fans alike, marks a moment of great danger. It should also mark a moment for change.
As global and regional human rights organizations, trade unions, fans groups and organizations representing migrant workers, many of us have long highlighted the severe risks posed by Saudi Arabia’s hosting of mega-sporting events. By awarding the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without meaningful protections, FIFA has today decided both to ignore our warnings and discard its own human rights policies.
FIFA can never claim that it did not know the severity of the risks of hosting its flagship event in a country with such weak human rights protections. Nor can the national Football Associations voting to approve it. Today, there is no shortage of evidence of migrant workers being exploited and subjected to racism, activists sentenced to decades in prison for expressing themselves peacefully, women and LGBTI people facing legalized discrimination, or residents forcibly evicted to make way for state projects. It is evident that without urgent action and comprehensive reforms, the 2034 World Cup will be tarnished by repression, discrimination and exploitation on a massive scale.
FIFA has long accepted that it has a clear responsibility, in line with international human rights standards, to prevent and mitigate human rights violations and abuses connected to its activities, as well as to provide remedy for those to which it has contributed. By pursuing today’s decision regardless of the known risks, FIFA will bear a heavy responsibility for much of what follows.
In the process of awarding the 2034 World Cup, FIFA’s human rights policies have been exposed as a sham. Without competitive bidding, there was little prospect of bids being rejected – no matter how poor the human rights strategy, or how severe the outstanding risk. There was no consultation with people likely to be impacted by either tournament, or specific or binding measures agreed that will ensure compliance with international labour standards or more comprehensive human rights reforms.
In the decade ahead we will mobilize the human rights community across the globe to ensure the violations and abuses of this World Cup are not ignored, and press for the fundamental changes needed to protect lives and expand freedoms. The Saudi authorities, FIFA, national Football Associations, FIFA sponsors and companies involved in the World Cup – or profiting hugely from it – all have human rights obligations and responsibilities, and we will seek to hold them accountable.
Together, we will continue to advocate for the rights of everyone in Saudi Arabia and beyond – migrant worker, resident, citizen, player, fan, activist or journalist – who may be impacted by the 2034 World Cup. While the Saudi population undoubtedly deserves to experience the joy that international sport can bring, this cannot come at any price. It must go hand in hand with measures to guarantee the rights that their government continues to deny them.
SignatoriesALQST for Human Rights
Amnesty International
Building and Woodworkers International (BWI)
Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC)
Equidem
European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR)
FairSquare
Football Supporters Europe (FSE)
Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
Human Rights Watch
ILGA World – The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association
International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF)
Jafari Jata Solution, Kenya
Law and Policy Forum for Social Justice (LAPSOJ), Nepal
Migrant Defenders Organisation, Kenya
Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC)
Migrant-Rights.org
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) – Africa
Paurakhi Nepal
Shramik Sanjal, Nepal
Solidarity Center (SC)
Sport and Rights Alliance (SRA)
Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 FIFA World Cup — a controversial pick
December 11, 2024
Becky Sullivan
Aya Batrawy
Human rights groups documented a wide range of abuses faced by migrant workers who built stadiums and other infrastructure in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.
Human rights at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
A major focus of the critics are the problems of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where human rights and environmental impacts were concerns from the moment the bid was selected.
Qatar relied on the labor of tens of thousands of migrant workers to build the stadiums and other infrastructure needed for the World Cup. Many faced injuries, unpaid wages and debt — and some died, although the number of deaths is disputed.
Death and dishonesty: Stories of two workers who built the World Cup stadiums in Qatar
Afterward, a report commissioned by FIFA found that "severe human rights impacts" had taken place and that FIFA had potentially contributed to them.
Saudi Arabia, too, is expected to rely on the labor of migrant workers in order to complete construction by 2034.
"There is nothing to indicate that Saudi Arabia will be any better," said Abdullah Alaoudh, a senior director at the Middle East Democracy Center.
With the World Cup over, rights groups hope the issues raised stay relevant in Qatar
Qatari officials have said the country's labor practices improved as a result of the World Cup, and it and FIFA largely blamed employers for abuses faced by workers.
Saudi Arabia's bid outlined existing laws that officials say will protect workers from abuse. In addition, officials say they will adopt "a human rights-based approach" to third-party contracts and worker welfare standards.
In evaluating Saudi Arabia's bid, FIFA nodded to social reforms that Saudi Arabia has made in recent years, and it noted that the country has 10 years to address any additional risk of discrimination or abuse before the tournament begins.
Sports as a tool for change in Saudi Arabia
Under the crown prince, the kingdom has spent billions of dollars to build up tourism and sports, part of a wider effort to boost foreign investment and revamp the economy away from oil, though energy revenues remain at the heart of this transformation.
The crown prince has opened up sports to girls in public schools, allowed women's gyms to flourish, lifted restrictions on women attending matches in sports stadiums and removed gender segregation in public spaces and restaurants — all unthinkable just a decade ago, when the country was under the sway of ultraconservative religious clerics who argued that playing sports blurred gender lines and encouraged promiscuity.
Saudi Arabia and China are accused of using sports to cover up human rights abuse
A new Saudi vision, under the crown prince, argues that sports are a tool for a change, with soccer at its heart. Saudi Arabia has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to draw global stars like Cristiano Ronaldo to play in Saudi Arabia's domestic leagues.
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund also underwrites golf's LIV tournament, a rival to the North America-based PGA. And the country has brought major boxing and tennis tournaments to its capital, Riyadh, along with motorsport events such as Formula One races and the Dakar Rally.
Human rights draw backlash to Saudi reforms
The 39-year-old crown prince's efforts have come alongside a crackdown on dissent and activism. People who have publicly called for change or criticized the crown prince have been jailed or banned from traveling abroad.
U.S. Intelligence: Saudi Crown Prince Approved Operation To Kill Jamal Khashoggi
Prince Mohammed's crackdown on critics came into global focus after the 2018 operation that killed Saudi writer and critic Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Turkey by agents who worked for the crown prince. His remains were never found, and the crown prince maintains he had no knowledge of the operation.
The Saudi human rights group ALQST says at least 306 people have been executed so far this year in the kingdom, the highest known figure in the country's history.
FIFA's Empty Human Rights Commitments
Today’s confirmation of Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 FIFA men’s World Cup, despite the well-known and severe risks to residents, migrant workers and visiting fans alike, marks a moment of great danger. It should also mark a moment for change.
As global and regional human rights organizations, trade unions, fans groups and organizations representing migrant workers, many of us have long highlighted the severe risks posed by Saudi Arabia’s hosting of mega-sporting events. By awarding the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without meaningful protections, FIFA has today decided both to ignore our warnings and discard its own human rights policies.
FIFA can never claim that it did not know the severity of the risks of hosting its flagship event in a country with such weak human rights protections. Nor can the national Football Associations voting to approve it. Today, there is no shortage of evidence of migrant workers being exploited and subjected to racism, activists sentenced to decades in prison for expressing themselves peacefully, women and LGBTI people facing legalized discrimination, or residents forcibly evicted to make way for state projects. It is evident that without urgent action and comprehensive reforms, the 2034 World Cup will be tarnished by repression, discrimination and exploitation on a massive scale.
FIFA has long accepted that it has a clear responsibility, in line with international human rights standards, to prevent and mitigate human rights violations and abuses connected to its activities, as well as to provide remedy for those to which it has contributed. By pursuing today’s decision regardless of the known risks, FIFA will bear a heavy responsibility for much of what follows.
In the process of awarding the 2034 World Cup, FIFA’s human rights policies have been exposed as a sham. Without competitive bidding, there was little prospect of bids being rejected – no matter how poor the human rights strategy, or how severe the outstanding risk. There was no consultation with people likely to be impacted by either tournament, or specific or binding measures agreed that will ensure compliance with international labour standards or more comprehensive human rights reforms.
In the decade ahead we will mobilize the human rights community across the globe to ensure the violations and abuses of this World Cup are not ignored, and press for the fundamental changes needed to protect lives and expand freedoms. The Saudi authorities, FIFA, national Football Associations, FIFA sponsors and companies involved in the World Cup – or profiting hugely from it – all have human rights obligations and responsibilities, and we will seek to hold them accountable.
Together, we will continue to advocate for the rights of everyone in Saudi Arabia and beyond – migrant worker, resident, citizen, player, fan, activist or journalist – who may be impacted by the 2034 World Cup. While the Saudi population undoubtedly deserves to experience the joy that international sport can bring, this cannot come at any price. It must go hand in hand with measures to guarantee the rights that their government continues to deny them.
SignatoriesALQST for Human Rights
Amnesty International
Building and Woodworkers International (BWI)
Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC)
Equidem
European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR)
FairSquare
Football Supporters Europe (FSE)
Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
Human Rights Watch
ILGA World – The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association
International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF)
Jafari Jata Solution, Kenya
Law and Policy Forum for Social Justice (LAPSOJ), Nepal
Migrant Defenders Organisation, Kenya
Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC)
Migrant-Rights.org
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) – Africa
Paurakhi Nepal
Shramik Sanjal, Nepal
Solidarity Center (SC)
Sport and Rights Alliance (SRA)
SPORTSWASHING
December 11, 2024
Becky Sullivan
Aya Batrawy
NPR/PBS
People celebrated in Jeddah as Saudi Arabia was announced Wednesday as the host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup.Mahmoud Khaled/Getty Images
The world's largest sporting event, the FIFA World Cup, will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2034, soccer's governing body announced Wednesday — a controversial selection that has already drawn criticism from human rights groups.
Saudi Arabia's was the only bid for the 2034 tournament, making its announcement on Wednesday a formality. And it is the biggest jewel yet of the long-running effort by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de-facto ruler, to rebrand the country and propel it onto the world stage.
FIFA should pay workers harmed in building World Cup venues, its committee report says
But critics have decried the award of such a massive, lucrative event to a country whose leadership is accused of serious human rights violations — including the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 and the jailing of other critics inside the country. And others fear that migrant workers needed to build stadiums and other infrastructure will face similar abuses to those who built the last World Cup in Qatar.
In a joint statement, 21 human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Saudi-focused organization ALQST, said the selection of Saudi Arabia represented a "moment of great danger" for "residents, migrant workers and visiting fans alike."
"FIFA can never claim that it did not know the severity of the risks of hosting its flagship event in a country with such weak human rights protections," the groups wrote. "It is evident that without urgent action and comprehensive reforms, the 2034 World Cup will be tarnished by repression, discrimination and exploitation on a massive scale."
How Saudi Arabia was selected
Wednesday's announcement also included the 2030 event, which is set to be co-hosted by Portugal, Spain and Morocco. And to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup, which was held in Uruguay, the first three games of the tournament will be held in South America, with a match apiece hosted by Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
Under FIFA rules, a World Cup cannot be hosted on the same continent that hosted the previous one. In turn, FIFA's decision to combine what had originally been two different 2030 bids — one from Spain, Portugal and Morocco and the other from the South American countries — had the effect of disqualifying any bids for 2034 from Europe, Africa or South America.
That considerably narrowed the field of potential hosts. After Australia announced last year it would not submit a bid, that left Saudi Arabia as the only bid standing.
Saudi Arabia's bid proposed holding games across 15 stadiums and five host cities.
The FIFA World Cup is one of the largest events in the world. And it generates enormous revenue for FIFA itself, which expects to bring in $11 billion from the 2026 event, which will be held in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The tournament has grown over time, and now includes 48 teams and more than 100 total matches.
People celebrated in Jeddah as Saudi Arabia was announced Wednesday as the host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup.Mahmoud Khaled/Getty Images
The world's largest sporting event, the FIFA World Cup, will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2034, soccer's governing body announced Wednesday — a controversial selection that has already drawn criticism from human rights groups.
Saudi Arabia's was the only bid for the 2034 tournament, making its announcement on Wednesday a formality. And it is the biggest jewel yet of the long-running effort by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de-facto ruler, to rebrand the country and propel it onto the world stage.
FIFA should pay workers harmed in building World Cup venues, its committee report says
But critics have decried the award of such a massive, lucrative event to a country whose leadership is accused of serious human rights violations — including the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 and the jailing of other critics inside the country. And others fear that migrant workers needed to build stadiums and other infrastructure will face similar abuses to those who built the last World Cup in Qatar.
In a joint statement, 21 human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Saudi-focused organization ALQST, said the selection of Saudi Arabia represented a "moment of great danger" for "residents, migrant workers and visiting fans alike."
"FIFA can never claim that it did not know the severity of the risks of hosting its flagship event in a country with such weak human rights protections," the groups wrote. "It is evident that without urgent action and comprehensive reforms, the 2034 World Cup will be tarnished by repression, discrimination and exploitation on a massive scale."
How Saudi Arabia was selected
Wednesday's announcement also included the 2030 event, which is set to be co-hosted by Portugal, Spain and Morocco. And to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup, which was held in Uruguay, the first three games of the tournament will be held in South America, with a match apiece hosted by Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
Under FIFA rules, a World Cup cannot be hosted on the same continent that hosted the previous one. In turn, FIFA's decision to combine what had originally been two different 2030 bids — one from Spain, Portugal and Morocco and the other from the South American countries — had the effect of disqualifying any bids for 2034 from Europe, Africa or South America.
That considerably narrowed the field of potential hosts. After Australia announced last year it would not submit a bid, that left Saudi Arabia as the only bid standing.
Saudi Arabia's bid proposed holding games across 15 stadiums and five host cities.
The FIFA World Cup is one of the largest events in the world. And it generates enormous revenue for FIFA itself, which expects to bring in $11 billion from the 2026 event, which will be held in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The tournament has grown over time, and now includes 48 teams and more than 100 total matches.
Human rights groups documented a wide range of abuses faced by migrant workers who built stadiums and other infrastructure in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.
Warren Little/Getty Images
Human rights at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
A major focus of the critics are the problems of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where human rights and environmental impacts were concerns from the moment the bid was selected.
Qatar relied on the labor of tens of thousands of migrant workers to build the stadiums and other infrastructure needed for the World Cup. Many faced injuries, unpaid wages and debt — and some died, although the number of deaths is disputed.
Death and dishonesty: Stories of two workers who built the World Cup stadiums in Qatar
Afterward, a report commissioned by FIFA found that "severe human rights impacts" had taken place and that FIFA had potentially contributed to them.
Saudi Arabia, too, is expected to rely on the labor of migrant workers in order to complete construction by 2034.
"There is nothing to indicate that Saudi Arabia will be any better," said Abdullah Alaoudh, a senior director at the Middle East Democracy Center.
With the World Cup over, rights groups hope the issues raised stay relevant in Qatar
Qatari officials have said the country's labor practices improved as a result of the World Cup, and it and FIFA largely blamed employers for abuses faced by workers.
Saudi Arabia's bid outlined existing laws that officials say will protect workers from abuse. In addition, officials say they will adopt "a human rights-based approach" to third-party contracts and worker welfare standards.
In evaluating Saudi Arabia's bid, FIFA nodded to social reforms that Saudi Arabia has made in recent years, and it noted that the country has 10 years to address any additional risk of discrimination or abuse before the tournament begins.
Sports as a tool for change in Saudi Arabia
Under the crown prince, the kingdom has spent billions of dollars to build up tourism and sports, part of a wider effort to boost foreign investment and revamp the economy away from oil, though energy revenues remain at the heart of this transformation.
The crown prince has opened up sports to girls in public schools, allowed women's gyms to flourish, lifted restrictions on women attending matches in sports stadiums and removed gender segregation in public spaces and restaurants — all unthinkable just a decade ago, when the country was under the sway of ultraconservative religious clerics who argued that playing sports blurred gender lines and encouraged promiscuity.
Saudi Arabia and China are accused of using sports to cover up human rights abuse
A new Saudi vision, under the crown prince, argues that sports are a tool for a change, with soccer at its heart. Saudi Arabia has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to draw global stars like Cristiano Ronaldo to play in Saudi Arabia's domestic leagues.
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund also underwrites golf's LIV tournament, a rival to the North America-based PGA. And the country has brought major boxing and tennis tournaments to its capital, Riyadh, along with motorsport events such as Formula One races and the Dakar Rally.
Human rights draw backlash to Saudi reforms
The 39-year-old crown prince's efforts have come alongside a crackdown on dissent and activism. People who have publicly called for change or criticized the crown prince have been jailed or banned from traveling abroad.
U.S. Intelligence: Saudi Crown Prince Approved Operation To Kill Jamal Khashoggi
Prince Mohammed's crackdown on critics came into global focus after the 2018 operation that killed Saudi writer and critic Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Turkey by agents who worked for the crown prince. His remains were never found, and the crown prince maintains he had no knowledge of the operation.
The Saudi human rights group ALQST says at least 306 people have been executed so far this year in the kingdom, the highest known figure in the country's history.
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