FIFA Faces Penalty for Hosting World Cup in Saudi Arabia
Nobody can guess which team will triumph in the Men's World Cup soccer championship in 2034. However, it's certain that the biggest losers will be the countless migrant workers who endure severe mistreatment while constructing facilities for the host nation, Saudi Arabia, over the coming decade.
On December 11, the 211 members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) will cast their votes in an "Extraordinary Congress" to choose the host for the 2034 tournament. The outcome is already apparent since Saudi Arabia is the sole candidate and has earned a stellar score from FIFA in its bid assessment.
FIFA doesn't disclose the financial gains it reaps by granting its marquee tournament to nations with poor human rights records. Those affected by this decision – Saudi Arabia's 13.4 million migrant workers, locals, players, spectators, and journalists – have no voting power.
FIFA and its Saudi government partners recently bragged about Saudi Arabia's extraordinary evaluation score of 419.8 out of 500, proclaiming it as "the highest score in FIFA World Cup history." The problematic FIFA evaluation method further trivialized systemic human rights violations in Saudi Arabia by assigning a merely "medium risk" classification.
FIFA bestowed this record-breaking score on a country devoid of labor unions, devoid of press freedom, and governed by a highly oppressive regime that harshly punishes any disobedience.
"We cannot call Saudi Arabia a 'medium risk' nation since it has transformed into a police state," stated Lina al-Hathloul, Head of Monitoring and Advocacy at ALQST For Human Rights, whose sister Loujain was detained and tortured for advocating for women's right to drive.
This month, FIFA leaders rejected their own independent report that supports the idea that FIFA bears responsibility for compensating the families of thousands of migrant workers who perished building FIFA's previous World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
Like Qatar, Saudi Arabia operates under the exploitative labor sponsorship system known as kafala, where migrant workers pay substantial recruitment fees, often lose their passports and are cheated out of wages by their employers, while being barred from changing jobs or departing the country freely. Labor unions, strikes, and protests are unlawful. Saudi authorities do not guarantee adequate protection for migrant laborers from perilous conditions like intense heat.
The extraordinary scale of Saudi World Cup plans increases the likelihood of labor rights crises even more than for the Qatar World Cup. The Saudi hosting documents promise to construct – at risk of workers' lives, as in Qatar – 11 new stadiums, 4 refurbished stadiums, 185,000 new hotel rooms, and conduct airport, road, and rail construction. This monumental infrastructure deficit will be solely shouldered by migrant workers to build.
The vast outlay for construction comes with a high human cost. A new Human Rights Watch report revealed that 884 migrant workers from Bangladesh perished in Saudi Arabia between January and July 2024 – a six-month period. Eighty percent of these deaths were left unexplained, categorized as "natural causes," and ineligible for compensation. Human Rights Watch penned a letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino on November 4, 2024, detailing prevalent labor abuses on mega-projects in Saudi Arabia designated for the World Cup infrastructure. FIFA has yet to reply.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is mobilizing efforts to win the bid to host, made clear by his emphasis that the FIFA World Cup is a crucial component of the Saudi national "sportswashing" strategy to portray a reformist image, masking its human rights infractions. "If sportswashing can boost my GDP by 1%, then we will continue sportswashing," stated the Saudi de-facto leader in an interview on Fox News last year. "I don't care."
However, FIFA should care. Allocating the World Cup to Saudi Arabia contravenes FIFA's human rights regulations. In 2016, battling against a corruption crisis, FIFA implemented specific human rights standards for itself and hosting countries – including boundaries against forced labor. These reforms were meant to ward off the tournaments from the worst human rights offenders. FIFA also vowed to "continue due diligence to identify, address, evaluate, and communicate risks of involvement with damaging human rights impacts," promising to "make every effort to uphold its international human rights duties."
Yet, not a single migrant laborer, victim of human rights crimes, torture survivor, jailed women's rights advocate, or Saudi civil society member was consulted for FIFA's supposedly independent human rights assessment. FIFA's "Bid Evaluation Report" omits reference to the significant forced labor complaint against the Saudi government filed by the trade union BWI at the International Labour Organization (ILO) in June of that year. A similar complaint about Qatar in 2014 triggered labor reforms, although it came "too late" to aid thousands of migrant workers who succumbed.
In 2023, FIFA was compelled to withdraw the sponsorship it had provided to the Saudi state-run tourism company “Visit Saudi,” after protests by women players. In October, more than 100 top women players penned an open letter protesting FIFA's financially enticing sponsorship deal with the Saudi state oil giant Aramco. Already, two United States senators have urged FIFA to opt for a different host for the 2034 World Cup.
FIFA should scrap the vote and stand by athletes and human rights instead of prioritizing profit from Saudi sports cleaning. Every endorser, corporation, broadcaster, and national team linked to the Saudi World Cup could be marred by extensive labor and other misuses unless there's an immediate and extensive human rights overhaul. FIFA's choice to grant Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup is an unforgivable infringement on fundamental human rights, potentially endangering migrant workers' lives. This decision warrants a straight red card.
- Despite the controversy surrounding human rights violations, FIFA is expected to choose Saudi Arabia as the host for the 2034 World Cup, given that it is the only candidate and has received a high score in FIFA's bid assessment.
- The large-scale construction plans for the Saudi World Cup, including the construction of 11 new stadiums and 185,000 new hotel rooms, will primarily be carried out by migrant workers under the kafala system, which is known for its exploitative practices.
- In a letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Human Rights Watch detailed prevalent labor abuses on mega-projects in Saudi Arabia designated for the World Cup infrastructure, but FIFA has yet to respond.
- Amidst the controversy, two United States senators have urged FIFA to consider a different host for the 2034 World Cup, and over 100 top women players have penned an open letter protesting FIFA's sponsorship deal with Saudi Aramco.
- Critics argue that awarding the World Cup to Saudi Arabia contravenes FIFA's human rights regulations and could potentially endanger the lives of migrant workers, with some calling for FIFA to scrap the vote and stand by athletes and human rights instead.
