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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 […]
Rights Groups Letter to F1 CEO Ahead of Bahrain Grand Prix: 20 Years of Sportswashing
Copy to: Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Teams, Drivers and Sponsors Dear Stefano Domenicali, We, the undersigned organisations, are writing to renew our concerns about Bahrain’s use of the F1 Grand Prix to “sportswash” the country’s dire human rights record. As you mark two decades of racing in Bahrain, and amid claims from F1 that […]
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 […]
Saudi Government Uses European Football to Sportswash its Reputation
Italian, Spanish Super Cups Played in Riyadh to Divert Attention From Abuses Forget Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist brutally murdered in a Saudi consulate, and all his colleagues jailed, censored or harassed in Saudi Arabia; don’t think about women’s and LGBT rights in the kingdom; and ignore the mass killings of migrants along the Saudi border with Yemen. Look, there, Saudi […]
Our Pledge on the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights
In honor of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the Sport & Rights Alliance pledges our utmost support for human rights – and commits to continue the work toward freedom, equality and justice for all. As the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights says, “Pledging is both […]
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 […]
Athlete Ally Statement on 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cup Concerns
Athlete Ally responded today to news that Saudi Arabia is now the sole bidder for the 2034 FIFA Men’s World Cup. This follows news that a joint bid from Morocco, Portugal and Spain is the only one being considered for the 2030 Men’s World Cup. FIFA’s Human Rights Policy, adopted in 2017, outlines its responsibility to identify and address adverse […]
FIFA: Secure Human Rights Protections for 2030 and 2034 Men’s World Cups as Bidding Deadline Passes
Sport & Rights Alliance Highlights Risks of Non-Competitive Process (Nyon, Switzerland, 31 October, 2023) — FIFA needs to secure clear and binding commitments to improve human rights in countries likely to host the 2030 and 2034 men’s football World Cup tournaments to prevent serious potential abuses linked to its flagship event, the Sport & Rights […]
FIFA Broke Own Human Rights Rules for World Cup Hosts
Saudi Arabia Shouldn’t be Rewarded for Its Repression (New York) – Global soccer governing body FIFA has broken its own human rights rules in announcing a plan for hosting the next two men’s World Cups that effectively eliminates bidding and human rights due diligence, Human Rights Watch said today. On October 4, FIFA announced that the 2030 World Cup will take place in Morocco, Portugal, […]
Olympics: Human Rights Amendments Should Be Implemented Without Exceptions
IOC Set to Vote on Proposed Changes to Olympic Charter (Nyon, Switzerland, 9 October 2023) – After years of public pressure and internal deliberations, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is set to adopt amendments to the Olympic Charter in the coming days that include potentially game-changing references to internationally recognized human rights, the Sport & […]
Olympic Committee’s Rights Commitments Tested in India
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is holding its 140th annual session from October 15 to 17 in Mumbai, India, where the government is expected to announce its bid to host the 2036 Summer Olympic Games in the western state of Gujarat. India has never hosted the Olympics and the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes that now is […]