Countries

Rights At Risk As Saudi Arabia ‘Sole Bidder’ To Host 2034 World Cup

In 2013, then-FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke gave a press conference in which he clarified FIFA’s strategy for choosing World Cup hosts: “I will say something which is crazy, but less democracy is sometimes better for organizing a World Cup. …When you have a very strong head of state who can decide, as maybe Putin can do […]

Athlete Ally Statement on 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cup Concerns

Athlete Ally responded today to news that Saudi Arabia is now the sole bidder for the 2034 FIFA Men’s World Cup. This follows news that a joint bid from Morocco, Portugal and Spain is the only one being considered for the 2030 Men’s World Cup.  FIFA’s Human Rights Policy, adopted in 2017, outlines its responsibility to identify and address adverse […]

­­FIFA: Secure Human Rights Protections for 2030 and 2034 Men’s World Cups as Bidding Deadline Passes

Sport & Rights Alliance Highlights Risks of Non-Competitive Process (Nyon, Switzerland, 31 October, 2023) — FIFA needs to secure clear and binding commitments to improve human rights in countries likely to host the 2030 and 2034 men’s football World Cup tournaments to prevent serious potential abuses linked to its flagship event, the Sport & Rights […]

FIFA Broke Own Human Rights Rules for World Cup Hosts

Saudi Arabia Shouldn’t be Rewarded for Its Repression (New York) – Global soccer governing body FIFA has broken its own human rights rules in announcing a plan for hosting the next two men’s World Cups that effectively eliminates bidding and human rights due diligence, Human Rights Watch said today. On October 4, FIFA announced that the 2030 World Cup will take place in Morocco, Portugal, […]

Olympic Committee’s Rights Commitments Tested in India

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is holding its 140th annual session from October 15 to 17 in Mumbai, India, where the government is expected to announce its bid to host the 2036 Summer Olympic Games in the western state of Gujarat. India has never hosted the Olympics and the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes that now is […]

Women’s World Cup Shows Equality Still Has A Long Way To Go

The 2023 Women’s World Cup tournament begins this week to great fanfare and broadcasting revenues estimated at close to $200 million. This is great news for the sport’s global governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)— but not so great for the women players on the field. As a flagship event in women’s sport, the […]