UEFA Euro 2024, Champions League, and FIFA World Cup Updates
June 6th, 2024 – Amnesty International has called on FIFA and countries bidding to host the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups to commit to binding agreements and legal reforms to prevent human rights violations connected to the tournaments.
In October, FIFA awarded the 2030 World Cup to a joint bid from Morocco, Spain, and Portugal, while Saudi Arabia is the sole bidder for the 2034 edition. Amnesty has raised concerns about the “serious human rights risks” associated with these host countries.
Amnesty has urged FIFA to ensure a “rigorous and transparent bidding process” with “meaningful stakeholder participation, including genuinely independent human rights risk assessments and comprehensive human rights strategies.” The organization has also warned FIFA to be prepared to withhold hosting rights until such agreements are in place and it is clear that human rights violations can be prevented, mitigated, and remedied.
The human rights group highlighted issues such as labor rights, discrimination, housing, freedom of expression, policing, and privacy as areas that need to be addressed. Amnesty noted that accident rates at construction projects in Spain and Portugal are above EU levels, and discrimination in stadiums in Spain, as exemplified by the racism suffered by Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr., is an ongoing concern.
Amnesty researcher Dana Ahmed stated that while they were able to conduct research on migrant workers in Qatar, which hosted the 2022 World Cup, leading to several reforms, they have not had any access in Saudi Arabia, making it “extremely difficult to do research from the outside.”
In a separate development, a global group of trade unions, led by Building and Wood Workers’ International, has filed a complaint with the International Labor Organization (ILO) accusing Saudi Arabia of abusing migrant workers. The complaint cites allegations of illegal recruitment fees, wage and passport withholding, limits on workers leaving jobs, and physical and sexual violence, particularly against female and domestic workers.
As the bidding process for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups continues, Amnesty and labor organizations are calling on FIFA to ensure that human rights are at the forefront of the selection process and that host countries are held accountable for protecting the rights of workers and citizens.
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