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FIFA: Publish Robust Rights Framework for 2026 World Cup
(New York) – FIFA should immediately release and commit to implementing the robust Human Rights Framework for the 2026 Men’s Soccer World Cup, which it developed through extensive consultations with civil society stakeholders and public officials from across North America. The framework, which FIFA shared with host cities in March 2024, will govern labor and human rights for all […]
Global: FIFA must publish its review into compensation for workers harmed delivering the World Cup in Qatar
FIFA should immediately publish and act on a review it received five months ago assessing its human rights responsibilities towards workers harmed delivering the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar, Amnesty International said today. Amnesty International understands that an independent review, which was announced at FIFA’s Congress early last year and had its findings approved by FIFA’s […]
Sparking Change at Play the Game 2024: Reflections from the Sport & Rights Alliance
The 13th edition of the Play the Game conference held in Trondheim, Norway, this February, brought together academics, journalists, athletes, human rights defenders and other stakeholders in the sports world to discuss the most pressing issues in international sport. The Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) participated in the forum with a robust delegation, with representatives […]
Statement by Dignity 2026 Coalition on the Announcement of the Match Schedule for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup
This weekend, FIFA released the much-anticipated match schedule for the 2026 Men’s World Cup, which will be held across 16 cities in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. As planning accelerates in these host cities, event organizers will now be making critical decisions on tournament operations, including for Fan Fests, transportation, concessions, and hospitality. In […]
Qatar: Inaction by Qatar and FIFA a year on from the World Cup puts legacy for workers in peril
Qatar’s continuing failure to remedy abuses faced by migrant workers and adequately protect them from labour exploitation is tainting the legacy of the FIFA men’s World Cup one year on, Amnesty International said today. A new briefing, A Legacy in Jeopardy, shows that progress towards improving workers’ rights has largely stalled since the tournament ended, while remedy […]
Rights At Risk As Saudi Arabia ‘Sole Bidder’ To Host 2034 World Cup
In 2013, then-FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke gave a press conference in which he clarified FIFA’s strategy for choosing World Cup hosts: “I will say something which is crazy, but less democracy is sometimes better for organizing a World Cup. …When you have a very strong head of state who can decide, as maybe Putin can do […]
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 […]
Landmark New Report Finds Trade Union Rights A Top Concern For Players Worldwide
A landmark survey released by the World Players Association (WPA) today uncovers that players face significant barriers to exercising their internationally recognized human rights to organize and to collectively bargain- #R2O – in global sport. The report titled, #R2O: Effective Athlete Representation in Global Sport 2023 outlines why #R2O is essential to the ability to effectively represent […]
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 […]
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 […]
FIFA’s ‘Best World Cup Ever’ Came at Migrant Workers’ Loss
World Football’s Chief Claims to Defend Rights, But Still Offers No Remedy In his last news conference before the 2022 World Cup finale, FIFA president Gianni Infantino declared that the football governing body is set to earn US$7.5 billion in revenue. FIFA then failed to commit to compensate migrant workers who built $220 billion in stadiums and tournament […]
Qatar: Nepali civil society groups denounce FIFA’s continued dismissal of migrant workers’ compensation claims
More than three dozen Nepali civil society organizations have today published an open letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino calling on him to “stop looking the other way” while migrant workers are denied compensation after having suffered abuses in Qatar. The organizations have also displayed their message on billboards across Kathmandu, including at Tribhuvan International Airport, where […]