FSE & CSHR Launch Fans’ Human Rights Guide

Like all people associated with sport, the human rights of fans should be upheld, and governments and institutions across the sports ecosystem, such as event organising committees, have responsibilities to protect and respect them.

Promoting human rights is a job for everyone, and fans themselves also have responsibilities. Fans have a strong platform to contribute to sport being a safe place and force for good and should know their rights. Fans also play a critical role in raising expectations across sport to ensure sporting events are welcoming and inclusive, and avoid causing harm to workers, residents, players, or others in and around an event.

The Fans’ Human Rights Guide, developed by Football Supporters Europe (FSE) and the Centre for Sport and Human Rights (CSHR), has been produced to raise awareness of some of the human rights aspects connected with attending an international sporting event from a fan perspective. The intent of this document, which builds on the guide Games Time – Planning and Acting to Respect Human Rights in Mega-Sporting Events, is to contribute to actions that ensure both fans and organisers are prepared for a safe and positive experience that upholds personal dignity and promotes once in a life-time experiences that sport can offer.

This is an initial version to be further developed in consultation with fans’ groups and other stakeholders, and will be revised based fans’ experiences at future sporting events.

Please contact the CSHR if you have any accessibility issues and require a plain text version of the guide.

Related news

Saudi Arabia: Migrant Domestic Workers Face Severe Exploitation, Racism and Exclusion from Labour Protections

Saudi Arabia: Migrant Domestic Workers Face Severe Exploitation, Racism and Exclusion from Labour Protections

Locked in, left out: the hidden lives of Kenyan domestic workers in Saudi Arabia Kenyan women hired as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia endure gruelling, abusive and discriminatory working conditions, which often amount to forced labour and human trafficking, Amnesty International said in a new report. The report highlights how employers subjected the women to […]

READ MORE

Japan Acts to Protect Athletes from Abuse

Japan Acts to Protect Athletes from Abuse

Four Years Since Tokyo Olympics, Lawmakers Commit to Protecting Children Four years after hosting the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Japan is finally taking action to protect athletes from abuse in sport. This month, the Japanese National Diet passed a revision to the Basic Act on Sport (2011), requiring the national and local governments to adopt measures […]

READ MORE

Related resources

Job Opening: Social Media & Communications Assistant

Job Opening: Social Media & Communications Assistant

­ Job Description: Social Media & Communications Assistant Start date:       July 2025 Location:         Remote Reporting to:   Communications Coordinator Hours:             15 hours/week Application Deadline: 30 June 2025 Summary The Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) is seeking a social media and communications assistant to help manage and create content for the SRA external […]

READ MORE

Image shows the arms of six players wearing read jerseys and black sleeves huddled with their hands together.

FIFA: Recognize, Support Afghan Women’s Team in Exile

New Report Details Afghan Women Footballers’ Fight for Right to Play (Amsterdam, March 25, 2025) – The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) should act to stop the ongoing discrimination against Afghan women footballers living in exile and facilitate their return to international competition, the Sport & Rights Alliance said in a report released today. […]

READ MORE

Join the Network

Sport has the potential to be a catalyst for human development, unity, and freedom, but too often it instead brings harm to its athletes, fans, and communities. We exist to uncover and rectify the many abuses that exist both in and around sport. We aim to transform sports into an authentic force for good.