ZURICH — With just two months remaining until FIFA confirms Saudi Arabia as the host for the 2034 World Cup, a coalition of legal and human rights professionals, along with Saudi activists based abroad, urged FIFA again on Friday to permit independent oversight of the kingdom’s human rights commitments related to the tournament.
The group advocates for ongoing assessments and the introduction of a possible termination clause in the contract for hosting the World Cup. They are calling for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has strong ties to Saudi political and soccer figures, to learn from the lessons that arose during the selection process for the 2022 World Cup, which went to Qatar after a brief consideration of potential legal issues and reputational risks.
Like Qatar, Saudi Arabia is a traditionally conservative nation that has embarked on extensive construction projects requiring the labor of migrant workers to create the necessary venues and infrastructure for this major global event. “There are really no excuses now,” stated British attorney Rodney Dixon. “If it means they need to negotiate a different kind of agreement in December, that’s what they should pursue.”
FIFA member federations will convene online on December 11 to finalize their decision regarding World Cup hosting contracts, with Saudi Arabia currently being the sole candidate for the 2034 tournament.
While Dixon emphasized that they do not intend to confront FIFA aggressively, he acknowledged, “We are not naive. It is not FIFA’s role to change the world. They are not the UN.” This announcement in Zurich followed closely on the heels of the recent UN General Assembly meeting in New York, where a Saudi campaign for a seat on the Human Rights Council was declined.
The advisors highlighted concerns related to Saudi Arabia’s record on freedom of speech and assembly, as well as the laws governing labor and male guardianship that restrict women’s rights. After his election in 2016, amid scrutiny concerning Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers, Infantino demanded that future World Cup hosts formulate a human rights strategy. However, the bidding criteria for the upcoming 2030 and 2034 tournaments only reference “activities connected to the bidding and hosting” without addressing broader societal rights.
In May, the collective of law and human rights experts extended an offer to FIFA to establish an independent mechanism to monitor progress in Saudi Arabia. Mark Pieth, a Swiss law professor and former adviser to FIFA, reported feeling overlooked and expressed the group’s intent to pursue this issue again in Zurich.
Saudi Arabia’s World Cup plans, unveiled in July, included an evaluation of their human rights strategies by their appointed lawyers and detailed 15 stadium proposals. Human Rights Watch researcher Joey Shea, speaking via a live link from London, reported grave labor violations against the kingdom’s more than 13 million migrant workers, who make up approximately 40% of the population. She remarked that the extensive construction needed for the World Cup and the possibility for labor abuses are particularly concerning.
She noted that rights organizations faced limited access in Qatar prior to the 2022 World Cup, but indicated that in Saudi Arabia, access is completely restricted. Saudi officials insist that the nation is making strides toward social reform as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 initiative aimed at modernization and establishing a post-oil economy.
On Friday, Abdullah Alaoudh from the Middle East Democracy Center, speaking from Washington, asserted that the human rights climate in Saudi Arabia has deteriorated under bin Salman’s governance. He pointed out that Saudi Arabia ranked 131st out of 146 countries in gender equality as outlined by the World Economic Forum, highlighting laws that discriminate against women, many of which remain unaddressed in the Saudi World Cup bid.
As FIFA analyzes the World Cup bidding process, it is expected to release reports around early December. The organization must also evaluate the human rights strategies of the 2030 World Cup candidates who include Spain, Portugal, Morocco, along with individual matches in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
FIFA confirmed on Friday that all relevant documents, including independent assessments of human rights contexts and strategies for bidders for both the 2030 and 2034 tournaments, are accessible on their website. However, FIFA and President Infantino have not conducted any press conferences to address questions regarding the bids since Saudi Arabia was rapidly considered as the host for 2034 last year.
The dynamics surrounding the vote on December 11 suggests that any dissent among FIFA voters is now unlikely, as FIFA announced that the decisions for both the 2030 and 2034 tournaments would be combined into a single voting process. Consequently, any European opposition to Saudi Arabia’s bid would impact the bids from Spain and Portugal as well. There is potential for a decision by acclamation, without individual vote delineation.
“If FIFA is determined to award Saudi Arabia the World Cup,” Pieth commented, “then at minimum, they should ensure that fundamental human rights requirements are honored.”
