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No ‘Dignity and Pride’ in World Cup Labor Abuses
FIFA Should Uphold Rights Responsibilities to Migrant Workers At a May 2 conference entitled “Managing the Beautiful Game,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino shockingly downplayed deaths and hardships of migrant workers in Qatar who have literally built the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In doing so, he reminded the world that preventable deaths and abuses of migrant workers in […]
As World Cup nears, Qatar and FIFA face fresh scrutiny on press freedom commitments
Exactly one year before the scheduled start of the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar, plainclothes officers from the Gulf state’s Criminal Investigations Department arrested Halvor Ekeland and Lokman Ghorbani, a sports reporter and cameraman respectively for Norwegian state broadcaster NRK, as they were leaving their hotel in the capital of Doha. The NRK journalists […]
Qatar: Security guards subjected to forced labour
Security guards in Qatar are working in conditions which amount to forced labour, including on projects linked to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Amnesty International has found. In a new report, They think that we’re machines, the organization documented the experiences of 34 current or former employees of eight private security companies in Qatar. The security guards, all migrant […]
Iranian Society Pushes for End to Stadium Ban
Women Have a Right to Attend Sporting Events Iranian authorities once again prevented women and girls from entering a sports stadium. Iran’s football team played Lebanon in a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying match in the city of Mashhad last week. But authorities prevented dozens of women who had reportedly purchased tickets for from entering the stadium. Additionally, […]
Iran: Women Blocked From Entering Stadium
Possible Use of Excessive Force; FIFA Should Enforce Call to End Discriminatory Ban (Beirut) – Iranian authorities prevented dozens of Iranian women from entering Imam Reza football stadium in the city of Mashhad on March 29, 2022, possibly using excessive force, Human Rights Watch said today. FIFA should use its leverage with Iranian authorities to demand that […]
New Year’s Revolution: Why 2022 will be a Wake-up Call for the World of Sport
The year 2022 will bring not one, not two, but three mega-sporting events in countries with problematic human rights records: the 2022 Winter Olympics in China, the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Qatar. The idea that sport can and should remain politically […]
Qatar: One Year to Make Good on Promises to Migrant Workers as Progress Stagnates
With just one year to go until the 2022 FIFA World Cup, time is running out for Qatar to deliver on its promise to abolish the kafala sponsorship system and better protect migrant workers, Amnesty International said today. In Reality Check 2021, a new analysis of Qatar’s progress towards overhauling its labour system, the organization found that progress has […]
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” […]
Letter: Investigation on Sexual Abuse Allegation in Mali Basketball
Mr. Andreas ZagklisSecretary GeneralFédération Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) July 29, 2021 Re: Investigation on Sexual Abuse Allegation in Mali Basketball Dear Mr. Zagklis, The Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) is a global coalition committed to embedding human rights and anti-corruption in world sport. We serve as a force multiplier for civil society groups and trade […]
World Players United
#WorldPlayersUnited is the strategic vision of the World Players Association. It introduces the organised and highly respected voice of the players and their organisations to the leadership of world sport. In so doing, it envisages a future world of sport that is very different to the one that exists today. #WorldPlayersUnited has, as its centrepiece, the advancement […]
The Economics of International Sport Governing Bodies
The World Player’s report, the Economics of International Sport Governing Bodies, analyses the most up-to-date financial information from major sports bodies and compares it to the earnings of athletes. In this 3rd edition, the report shows that athletes and players continue to be denied a fair share of the wealth they generate and are excluded from the […]