Rights At Risk As Saudi Arabia “Sole Bidder” To Host 2034 World Cup

In 2013, then-FIFA caput wide Jérôme Valcke gave a property convention successful which he clarified FIFA’s strategy for choosing World Cup hosts: “I will opportunity thing which is crazy, but little populist is sometimes amended for organizing a World Cup. …When you person a very beardown caput of authorities who tin decide, arsenic possibly Putin tin do successful 2018...that is easier for america organizers.”

Mr. Valcke was later convicted successful Switzerland of corruption, but nan world shot governing body’s evident penchant for moving pinch autocrats remains and was connected afloat show this week, erstwhile nan backing of FIFA president Gianni Infantino efficaciously delivered nan 2034 Men’s World Cup to Saudi Arabia.

On October 31, Saudi Arabia became nan “sole bidder” to big nan 2034 World Cup, erstwhile Australia, nan only state pinch a imaginable competing bid, dropped out. FIFA will still certify nan World Cup grant astatine gathering adjacent year, but location is nary uncertainty astir nan result pinch only 1 candidate.

This eventual shot tourney will beryllium nan brightest jewel yet successful Saudi Arabia’s “sportswashing” crown. The oil-rich kingdom has been determined to bargain nan halo effect of hosting sport’s largest and astir celebrated event, hoping this will lavation distant its mediocre quality authorities reputation. Saudi Arabia is nan world champion sportswasher, paying apical dollar for nan authorities to big mega-sporting events and acquiring entire teams and leagues to bargain nan benefits of being associated pinch celebrated sports, including Formula 1 racing and nan PGA play tour.

Despite FIFA pledging to uphold quality rights and labour standards successful selecting hosts, it is group to grant nan 2034 games pinch nary quality authorities owed diligence—none is imaginable owed to Saudi authorities repression. FIFA is besides failing to study nan lessons of caller history that granting its largest arena without quality authorities protections tin beryllium catastrophic for nan workers who build and work nan tournament.

When governments without nan norm of law, property state aliases protections for workers host these events—as pinch Russia’s 2014 World Cup and China’s 2008 Summer Olympics—the consequence has been superior quality authorities abuses, specified arsenic arrests of journalists, favoritism against LGBT athletes and fans, and deaths of thousands of migrant workers.

When FIFA named Qatar nan World Cup big successful 2010, it was without quality authorities owed diligence connected nan vulnerable conditions for millions of migrant workers who were needed to build stadiums and hotels, moving nether nan kafala sponsorship system.

In 2022, Qatar became nan astir lucrative World Cup ever for FIFA—but besides nan deadliest. Official Qatari statistic show that 15,021 non-Qataris died successful nan state betwixt 2010 and 2019, erstwhile nan main infrastructure for nan FIFA World Cup was built. Human Rights Watch documented really migrant workers who built $220 cardinal worthy of FIFA infrastructure for nan 2022 World Cup faced wide abuses including extreme power and humidity, wage theft and exorbitant recruitment fees. “At activity [in Qatar], we had to move retired sweat from our shoes,” a erstwhile building worker said.

Saudi Arabia has a akin climate—but much than six times nan number of migrant workers. FIFA’s bidding documents opportunity 14 stadiums are needed to big nan 48-team tournament, and an estimated 13.4 cardinal migrant workers labour successful building aliases different low-wage work assemblage jobs pinch fewer quality authorities protections.

Saudi Arabia bars labour unions, strikes and protests.

Saudi Arabia’s quality authorities grounds includes nan imprisonment of scores of activists and dissidents for their serene criticism, repression of civilian society, arsenic good arsenic oppression of women’s rights under its male guardianship system, and nan sidesplitting of hundreds of migrants astatine nan Saudi-Yemen separator that whitethorn magnitude to crimes against humanity. Saudi courts person imposed decades-long sentences connected Saudi citizens for tweets.

Sex extracurricular matrimony and same-sex relations are crimes, pinch punishments including nan decease penalty.

Saudi Arabia has nary independent media freedom, a basic requirement for World Cup hosts. Five years ago, Saudi agents murdered and dismembered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who had been captious of nan Saudi government.

Human authorities reforms were adopted successful FIFA only aft a monolithic corruption ungraded over trading votes for nan past 2 World Cups toppled erstwhile president Sepp Blatter successful 2015.

In 2016, FIFA embraced nan United Nations Guiding Principles connected Business and Human Rights and hired quality authorities staff. In 2017, FIFA published a caller Human Rights Policy promising protections crossed its world operations. FIFA group up important caller human authorities bid requirements for nan 2026 World Cup successful nan U.S., Mexico, and Canada, claiming “human authorities commitments are binding connected each FIFA bodies and officials.

But FIFA ignored its quality authorities standards for nan World Cups it granted to Russia, Qatar and now, effectively, Saudi Arabia. Human Rights Watch contacted FIFA successful February and October to petition specifications connected quality authorities owed diligence and stakeholder consultation up of awarding Saudi Arabia nan Asian Cup and nan Club World Cup tournaments. FIFA has not responded.

FIFA’s human authorities rules require bidders for nan World Cup to “engage pinch quality authorities stakeholders” and let independent quality authorities monitoring wrong nan country. This request unsocial should person raised superior concerns astir Saudi Arabia being considered to big nan World Cup.

Many of nan country’s courageous quality authorities defenders are in prison aliases successful exile, unavailable to thief meet this requirement, making it clear that FIFA ne'er meant to abide by its pledges.