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Get the latest news and updates from our partners on the human rights issues in and around the world of sport.
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Petition: Put Human Rights at the Heart of Sport
Switzerland Must Ensure that Sports Bodies Respect Human Rights Sport unites people and can help overcome differences. It is also a lucrative business that too often comes at the expense of human rights. As the home country of the world’s biggest sports bodies, Switzerland must ensure that sports bodies respect human rights in all their […]
Hong Kong: National anthem football arrests are an attack on freedom of expression
Responding to the arrests of three people accused of “insulting” China’s national anthem by turning their backs to the field and failing to stand up when it was played at a football match in Hong Kong, Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said: “Once again in Hong Kong, a thoroughly peaceful act of protest is […]
FIFA: Secure binding safeguards from 2030 and 2034 World Cup bidders
Global: FIFA must protect human rights by securing binding safeguards from 2030 and 2034 World Cup bidders – new report FIFA must rigorously and transparently ensure that bids to host the 2030 and 2034 men’s World Cup tournaments fully safeguard human rights and reject any offer that risks abuses once again tainting the world’s largest sporting […]
Saudi Arabia: ILO Forced Labor Complaint a Wake-Up Call
Global Union Filing Stresses Urgent Need for Labor Reforms, Remedy for Past Abuses (Geneva) – A forced labor complaint against the Saudi Arabian government filed by a global trade union is a significant warning to Saudi authorities and businesses and investors in the country about the predictable and preventable migrant labor abuses associated with the government’s Vision 2030 plan […]
2023 Annual Report: A New Era for Sport and Human Rights
Human Rights Can No Longer Be Ignored by the World of Sport “After years of fighting for global sport to recognize its impact and responsibility toward human rights, the year 2023 ushered in a new era – an era where human rights can no longer be ignored by sport governing bodies,” writes Andrea Florence, director […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]