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.

Sport & Rights Alliance Raises Concerns over FIFA’s Surprise Selection of UAE to Host 2021 Club World Cup
Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, announced on Wednesday that the global football governing body has selected the United Arab Emirates to host the Club World Cup 2022. Since 2017, FIFA has made important progress in terms of its human rights responsibilities, including adopting policies that ensure a human rights risk assessment for host countries and […]

Qatar: Failure to Investigate Migrant Worker Deaths Leaves Families in Despair
Qatari authorities have failed to investigate the deaths of thousands of migrant workers over the past decade, despite evidence of links between premature deaths and unsafe working conditions, Amnesty International said today. The organization’s new report, In the Prime of their Lives, documents how Qatar routinely issues death certificates for migrant workers without conducting adequate investigations, instead attributing deaths to “natural causes” […]

Qatar: Little Progress on Protecting Migrant Workers
Qatari authorities’ efforts to protect migrant workers’ right to accurate and timely wages have largely proven unsuccessful, Human Rights Watch said in a report and an accompanying video released today. Despite a handful of reforms in recent years, withheld and unpaid salaries, as well as other wage abuses, are persistent and widespread across at least 60 employers and companies in Qatar.

Sport & Rights Alliance Backs Human Rights Advisory Board Call for FIFA to be Accountable on Human Rights
FIFA should back its 2017 Human Rights Policy by ensuring accountability, transparency and remedy at the highest levels of football, a landmark report by FIFA’s independent human rights advisory board has recommended.

China: FIFA Broke Own Rules for Club World Cup
FIFA Sidelines Human Rights, Keeps Beijing Hosting Arrangements Secret (New York) – FIFA’s surprise selection of China to host the 2021 Club World Cup disregarded its own human rights commitments in the bidding process, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing correspondence with the global football governing body. In March 2019, FIFA abolished the Confederations Cup and used the available slot in the calendar […]

Qatar Dismantles Kafala System of Modern Slavery
Qatar’s programme of labour reforms today succeeded in dismantling the kafala system and heralding a modern industrial relations system. Exit visas for workers – including domestic workers, those in government and public institutions, and workers employed at sea, in agriculture as well as casual workers – have been eliminated. These workers have the same rights […]