Saudi Arabia's World Cup 2034

Saudi Arabia’s World Cup ambition raises Fifa’s human rights concerns again

Two months before Saudi Arabia is likely to host the World Cup, Fifa was accused again of ignoring human rights issues.

The Building and Wood Workers’ International, a trade union that has engaged with Fifa on governance improvements and signed a memorandum of understanding, believes it has been neglected in discussions about Saudi foreign worker exploitation.

The BWI complained to the International Labour Organization in June about “an epidemic of abuses” against Gulf migrant workers.

Thousands of Filipino workers are awaiting financial compensation from the Saudi authorities after their former employers refused them wages for years.

The BWI claims Fifa has ignored several attempts “to engage in dialogue about these abuses and to set stringent conditions for hosting”.

BWI general secretary Ambet Yuson served on Fifa’s human rights advisory board till 2020. He accused Fifa of a “without any robust assessment” bidding process and warned granting the World Cup to Saudi risked a “permanent stain” in sports.

“Rewarding Saudi Arabia with the 2034 Fifa World Cup without a robust assessment and mechanisms to prevent further abuses endorses global exploitation and injustice,” Yuson stated.

No credible assessment of the Saudis’ human rights plans can be made without input from independent organizations on the ground, but Fifa must immediately take responsibility and use its leverage to ensure justice for thousands of workers denied their most basic rights for over a decade.

Before any decision is made and injustice becomes a permanent stain in sports, action is needed.”

The BWI intervened less than two weeks after senior lawyers alleged Fifa had ignored their legal argument on human rights in the kingdom.

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A former Fifa independent governance committee head called the statement “simply not good enough” and accused Fifa of “dealing with the devil” by moving the tournament to the kingdom.

Under the BWI’s complaint to the International Labour Organization, 21,000 migrant workers from the Philippines, Nepal, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh who built Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure were subjected to human rights abuses.

The trade union claims delayed Saudi government replies to complaints. Some 8,830 Filipino workers at the now-liquidated Saudi Oger firm went without salaries for years, according to their evidence.

Only 1,352 have been paid for the losses, and others have had to take out loans for household expenditures, according to the BWI.

Fifa will announce in December that Saudi Arabia, the sole bidder, will host the 2034 World Cup. The worldwide regulatory body is preparing “bid evaluation reports” for publication before the decision.

In addition to sustainability and human rights, a “risk report” is one of the three main evaluation components.

Saudi Arabia's World Cup 2034

With trade unions and foreign non-governmental organizations prohibited in Saudi Arabia, the BWI contends that Fifa must consider proposals that show life on the ground.

Article 7 of Fifa’s human rights policy states, “Fifa will constructively engage with the relevant authorities and other stakeholders and make every effort to uphold its international human rights responsibilities.”

Comment has been sought from Fifa and the Saudi minister of human resources and social development.

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