Sporting Events

Explore our latest research and analysis on the world’s biggest sporting events and the athletes, fans, and communities impacted by them.

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 […]

FIFA: Letter Seeking Update on Safe Sport Entity Status and Timeline

(Nyon, Switzerland, July 19, 2023) – FIFA should urgently provide transparent and detailed information on its plans for an Independent Global Safe Sport Entity to address systemic sexual, emotional and physical abuse in sport and provide remedy and support to victims and survivors, the Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) said today. In a letter to […]

Olympics: Act on Sex Abuse Complaints by Indian Athletes

Sport & Rights Alliance Calls for Independent Investigation After Protesters Detained (Nyon, Switzerland) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) should immediately act to ensure reports of alleged sexual abuse of athletes by the president of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, are investigated fully, the Sport & Rights Alliance said today. In a statement on May […]

Switzerland: Parliament Must Ensure Respect for Human Rights by Sports Federations 

Bern (6 June 2023) – Strong measures are needed to ensure that sports federations based in Switzerland comply with their human rights due diligence obligations, says Amnesty International. The human rights organization, together with the global coalition Sport & Rights Alliance, is calling on the Swiss Parliament to support two policy initiatives that seek to […]

France: Intrusive Olympics Surveillance Technologies Could Usher in a Dystopian Future

French lawmakers must reject any plans to use video surveillance powered by artificial intelligence (AI) at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Such draconian technologies of mass surveillance violate the rights to privacy and can lead to violations of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. This could result into dystopian levels of surveillance in […]

Image shows maroon background with SRA logo and headline: "Recap: Qatar 2022 Press Briefing" with bullet points "LGBTI+ rights, Women's rights, Press freedom" and date 09 November 2022 // 10-11 AM ET 4-5 PM CET

Qatar 2022: Press Briefing on LGBTI+ Rights, Women’s Rights and Press Freedom Ahead of the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup

Since FIFA awarded the 2022 Men’s World Cup to Qatar in 2010, the exploitation of migrant workers fueling the 220-billion-dollar infrastructure project became the center of human rights concerns about this mega sporting event – but it was by no means the only human rights issue at play. On the 9th of November 2022, eleven days […]