The FIFA World Cup
Check out the latest research and analysis from Sport & Rights Alliance partners on the human rights risks and impacts connected to FIFA World Cup events.
Letter to FIFA President Infantino on the detention of Iranian women football fans
Re: Iranian women football fans and journalists detained outside Azadi Stadium Dear President Infantino, The Sport and Rights Alliance (SRA), a global coalition of NGOs and trade unions committed to embedding human rights and anti-corruption in world sport, is greatly disappointed by the events yesterday in Iran in which female football fans and sports reporters […]
ILO Decision Heralds New Era for Workers’ Rights in Qatar. Saudi Arabia and the UAE Must Follow Its Lead
The International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) decision to close the complaint against Qatar, following the government’s commitments to dismantle the kafala system and end modern slavery, signals a new era for workers’ rights in the country. “Qatar has set a new standard for the Gulf States, and this must be followed by Saudi Arabia and the […]
FIFA: Another Own Goal?
On 13 May at the first FIFA Congress since he was elected president of football’s world governing body, Gianni Infantino claimed FIFA was over its corruption crisis. He also announced the appointment of someone outside football as the new general secretary, Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura from Senegal, a former businesswoman who has worked in various senior posts at the […]
New ITUC Report “Qatar: Profit and Loss” Workers Paying with Lives as Companies Extract Billions in Profit
A new report from the International Trade Union Confederation estimates that $15 billion profit will be made by companies working in Qatar on infrastructure for the controversial 2022 FIFA World Cup using up to 1.8 million migrant workers who are modern day slaves. The report released on International Migrants Day is critical of Qatar for […]
RUSSIA: 2018 World Cup Football
The human rights situation in Russia is abysmal. Since 2012, numerous new laws further suppress the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. Journalists, human rights activists, lawyers, gays and artists are thwarted in many ways to prevent them from voicing any criticism. The ‘law on foreign agents’ paralyzes civil society. Ahead of the […]
FIFA Men’s World Cup Qatar 2022
In 2022, Qatar will host the FIFA Men’s World Cup – an historic moment as it will be the first time the tournament has ever been held in the Middle East. Scores of football stadiums and other facilities are being built for this event by migrant workers. Their working conditions are brutal, rife with coercion and […]
