Rights organisations on Wednesday, the 11th of December, strongly criticised FIFA after the world football governing body officially awarded the 2034 Men’s World Cup to Saudi Arabia, as a major part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to develop its sports and entertainment sector to enhance its global reputation, reports Reuters.
“FIFA’s reckless decision… will put many lives at risk,” Steve Cockburn, head of labour rights and sport at Amnesty International, said in a statement released by the 21 organisations.
They included Saudi diaspora human rights organisations, migrant workers groups, international trade unions, fan representatives and global human rights organisations.
“FIFA knows that workers will be exploited and even die if fundamental reforms are not made in Saudi Arabia and yet it has decided to push forward,” the statement added.
Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in sport, signing stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar to improve its football league, buying English Premier League club Newcastle United and setting up the LIV Golf tour. It has also organised the WTA tennis finals and invested in sports such as boxing, as part of Vision 2030 to transform Saudi Arabia into a tourism hub.
FIFA gave Saudi Arabia’s bid a high technical rating, which Amnesty called an “astonishing whitewashing” of the country’s human rights record.
Saudi Arabia bans trade unions and has no minimum wage for migrant workers. The country uses a “kafala” system that ties workers to one employer and prevents them from leaving the country without consent. Rights groups argue that this system makes workers vulnerable to exploitation.
Saudi Arabia denies allegations of human rights abuses and says its laws protect national security.
The head of Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid said the country has introduced measures to protect workers’ rights as part of its “Vision 2030”. These include allowing workers to change employers and a new insurance policy to ensure workers are paid if a company goes bankrupt.
In 2022, Saudi Arabia had 13.4 million migrant workers, accounting for 42% of the population.
The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) noted that one of the stadiums being built for the tournament involved alleged abuse of workers, namely working 10-hour shifts in high heat.
“FIFA, its sponsors and multinational companies… have a legal and ethical responsibility to respect human rights,” said Phil Bloomer, Executive Director of the BHRRC.
FIFA faced similar criticism over the award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, where rights groups pointed to problems such as unpaid wages and labour restrictions.
The Saudi sports minister said they had learnt valuable lessons from Qatar’s experience and insights on how to improve their hosting of the World Cup.
“I think controversy will arise at any event and we have learned a lot from their experience,” he said.
FIFA also confirmed on Wednesday that the 2030 World Cup will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.