News
Get the latest news and updates from our partners on the human rights issues in and around the world of sport.
SEARCH BY KEYWORD
SEARCH BY TAG
2026 World Cup: Tournament Will Kick Off in Climate of Fear
‘Reporters’ Guide’ Outlines ICE Threats, Press Freedom Risks, Unmet FIFA Commitments (Berlin) – The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup is unfolding against a backdrop of abusive immigration enforcement in the United States, new threats to media freedom, discrimination, and unmet human rights commitments by FIFA and host cities, Human Rights Watch said today, releasing a “Reporters’ Guide” […]
“Do it well and do it deeply”: Navigating Safe Sport Entities
Workshop Recap: Recent Advances and Challenges in Safe Sport Entities On March 23rd, the Athletes Network for Safer Sports held an online workshop exploring the development of ‘safe sport entities’ – organizations designed to address harassment and abuse in sport. Featuring Alison Quigley, survivor of abuse in gymnastics, safe sport advocate, researcher and founder of […]
World Cup: 2 Months Out, FIFA and Host Cities Sideline Rights
Missing Host City ‘Human Rights Action Plans’ Underscore Lack of Protections (New York) – World Cup city host committees and FIFA have fallen short on the steps needed to protect players and fans, Human Rights Watch said today, with the tournament two months away. All but one of the host city committees have either failed to present […]
2025 Annual Report: Shifting the Power of Sport
Impacted People are Leading the Way “Looking back at our collective work and impact in 2025, one message is clear: policies are being put to the test, and the world of sport is being called to rise to the occasion,” reflects Andrea Florence, executive director of the Sport & Rights Alliance. “While multi-billion dollar organizations […]
Global: FIFA and World Cup hosts must prevent tournament becoming a threat to fans and communities
Millions of football fans attending the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA risk coming face to face with troubling attacks on human rights, not least those stemming from abusive and deadly US immigration policies, Amnesty International said today. The human rights organization warned that severe restrictions on freedom of expression […]
Humanity Must Win: Defending Rights, Tackling Repression at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
On 11 June 2026, the largest and most lucrative FIFA World Cup in history will begin. Millions of fans will travel to Canada, Mexico and the USA, while billions more watch from home. This World Cup is taking place amidst an acute human rights crisis. With just weeks to go until kick-off, FIFA’s claim that […]
Olympics: Sex Testing Harms All Women and Girls
International Olympic Committee has no right to become ‘gender police’ of the world (Amsterdam, March 17, 2026) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) should abandon potential plans to mandate genetic sex testing and ban transgender and intersex athletes, the Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA), ILGA World, Humans of Sport and over 100 other allied organizations […]
Failures in Brazilian Football Expose Culture of Misogyny and Abuse
Persistent risks for women and children in Brazilian sport (Sao Paulo, March 6, 2026) — Ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day, renewed attention must be paid to the persistent risks facing women and children in the world of sports. Nowhere is this more pertinent than in Brazil, set to host the 2027 FIFA Women’s […]
Olympics: Uphold human rights for all athletes
Requesting clarification on the IOC Working Group on Women’s Category The Sport & Rights Alliance has written to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the IOC Working Group on the “protection of the female category” and potential decisions to implement mandatory sex testing and a blanket ban on transgender and intersex athletes in the women’s […]
Iran: Letter to IOC re Iranian athletes facing political execution
Urgent IOC action required to protect Iranian athletes facing political execution The Sport & Rights Alliance has written to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding boxer and coach Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani who is at risk of imminent execution amid an ongoing horrifying escalation of executions in Iran. Read the full letter below. **Update: On […]
SAFER Handbook: Football Supporters Europe publishes project outcomes and good practices
SAFER – Support & Awareness for Female fans in European football through Research, prevention, and remedy Football Supporters Europe is delighted to share the handbook from its SAFER (Support & Awareness for Female fans in European football through Research, prevention, and remedy) project. Download the SAFER handbook here. About the project SAFER, a Football Supporters Europe project supported by the […]
FIFA’s Ticketing Policy is Excluding Fans With Disabilities From the 2026 World Cup
On 15 December, Football Supporters Europe (FSE) and its Disability & Inclusion Fan Network wrote to FIFA President Gianni Infantino to condemn FIFA’s accessible ticket pricing for the 2026 World Cup, which is effectively excluding supporters with disabilities from the tournament. FIFA has restricted accessibility tickets for National Team fans (PMA allocation) to Categories 1–3, […]