FIFA report: Saudi 2034 World Cup bid poses ‘medium’ risk to human rights
FIFA, the world football governing body, published its assessment report on Friday evening on Saudi Arabia’s attempt to host the 2034 Men’s World Cup, with the country receiving a higher score in the bidding requirements than the successful joint bid of Canada, America and Mexico has granted. for the 2026 edition, while the human rights risk assessment was declared “medium”.
FIFA also claims in its report that there is “good potential” for competition to act as a “catalyst” for reform within Saudi Arabia, saying this “will contribute to positive human rights outcomes”. Amnesty International described FIFA’s observations as “an astonishing whitewash” of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
The bid report also stated that oil-rich Saudi Arabia’s bid showed a “good commitment to sustainability”, while FIFA acknowledged that the Saudi bid carries “increased risk” in terms of timing due to the climate in the country.
FIFA, which normally hosts the men’s World Cup in June and July, says the bidder has not set a proposal for the tournament but has pledged to work together to “ensure the success of the tournament”, implying we may will see a repeat of the 2022 edition in Qatar. was postponed to the winter months to allow for the safety of participants and supporters.
FIFA ranks its World Cup bids out of five and awarded the Saudi bid a score of 4.2, higher than the so-called United bid for 2026, which received a score of 4.0. For the 2027 Women’s World Cup, Brazil’s successful bid received a score of 4.0, while the defeated joint bid of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany received a score of 3.7.
FIFA published its report in an email to the media on Saturday morning at 12:33 central European time. Almost immediately, reports appeared in English-language media in the Middle East, such as the Saudi Gazette, to declare that the Saudi bid had received FIFA’s highest ever score in World Cup bidding.
The Saudi bid for the 2034 World Cup was already seen as almost inevitable as it was the only bidder for the tournament. This outcome came after FIFA announced a mega edition for the 2030 World Cup, which would take place in three continents (Africa, Europe and South America) and six countries (Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay).
This prevented these three continents from bidding for the next World Cup in 2034, while the joint US-Canada-Mexico event for 2026 ruled out a return to North America due to FIFA’s principle of confederation rotation.
This gave the Saudis a clear lead in the absence of a rival from elsewhere in Asia or Oceania, subject to a vote by member states at the FIFA Congress on December 11, which was widely seen as a formality.
The FIFA report states that the evaluation “consulted several sources, including the bidder’s human rights strategy, the mandatory context assessment, as well as direct commitments from the host country and host cities, together with all host contractual documents, all of which specifically contain provisions regarding respect for human rights in connection with the competition”.
Tennis stars Ons Jabeur (far left) and Aryna Sabalenka tour the Saudi 2034 bid exhibition in October (Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images for WTA)
However, The Athletics revealed last month how eleven organizations – including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, a Saudi Arabian diaspora organization and human rights groups specializing in the Gulf region – raised major concerns about the credibility of a report for FIFA entitled ‘Independent Context Assessment Prepared for the Saudi Arabian Football Federation in connection with the 2034 FIFA World Cup”.
The independent context analysis, produced by the Saudi arm of global law firm Clifford Chance, excluded a host of internationally recognized human rights from its assessment, saying this was because “Saudi Arabia has not ratified the relevant treaties or because the Saudi Football Federation recognized not consider them ‘applicable’ to the assessment”.
This meant that it avoided delving into issues that many would consider relevant to Saudi Arabia, particularly regarding freedom of expression, association and assembly, as well as LGBTQI+ discrimination, the ban on trade unions, the right to freedom of religion and forced evictions.
The report states that the scope of its review was “determined by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation in consultation with FIFA,” suggesting that FIFA itself approved the omissions. Both the Saudi Football Association and FIFA did not respond when contacted The Athletics at the time.
In a press release from the rights groups, they claimed that “Saudi Arabia’s already poor human rights record has deteriorated under the de facto rule of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman” and cited a “rising number of mass executions , torture, enforced disappearances, severe restrictions on freedom of expression, suppression of women’s rights under the male guardianship system, LGBTI+ discrimination and the killing of hundreds of migrants at the Saudi Arabia-Yemen border.”
“As expected, FIFA’s review of Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid is a stunning whitewash of the country’s atrocious human rights record,” said Steve Cockburn, head of labor rights and sport at Amnesty International. “There are no meaningful commitments that will prevent workers from being exploited, residents from being evicted or activists from being arrested.
“By ignoring the clear evidence of serious risks to human rights, FIFA is likely to bear significant responsibility for the violations and abuses that will occur over the next decade. Fundamental human rights reforms are urgently needed in Saudi Arabia, otherwise the 2034 World Cup will inevitably be tainted by exploitation, discrimination and repression.”
FIFA’s bid evaluation, published on Saturday morning, draws heavily on the Clifford Chance report. It makes no reference whatsoever to the terms ‘LGBTQI+’, ‘sexuality’ or ‘sexual orientation’, while the only mention of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia is found with references to the growth of women’s football and women’s participation in football within Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia.
The bid evaluation says Saudi Arabia has “made significant progress in developing grassroots interest and participation for women and girls, and at the elite level.”
A model of Jeddah Central Development at the 2034 Saudi World Cup Exhibition in Riyadh (Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty Images)
The bid, which is ranked as low, medium or high, also gives a medium risk level for stadiums, transport and accommodation, as well as the ‘event timing’ explained earlier. Stadiums receive a rating of 4.1 out of five, despite eight of the proposed fifteen stadiums for the tournament being new construction. FIFA said this posed a “slightly increased” risk profile.
The bid evaluation states that the Saudi bid included government commitments to “respect, protect and fulfill internationally recognized human rights in connection with competition, including in the areas of safety and security, labor rights (in particular fundamental labor rights and those of migrant workers), the rights of children, gender equality and non-discrimination, as well as freedom of expression (including freedom of the press)”.
FIFA says the Saudis are committed to “fair wages” as well as “decent working and living conditions for all individuals involved in the preparation and implementation of the FIFA World Cup, including through the establishment of an employee welfare system to to monitor compliance with FIFA rules. labor rights standards for tournament-related employees”.
They also say the Saudis “will cooperate with the International Labor Organization (ILO) in connection with its commitment to upholding international labor standards in all activities related to competition.” The treatment and rights of migrant workers were among the biggest talking points before and during the 2022 World Cup, held in neighboring Qatar.
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FIFA simultaneously released its report for the sole bid for the 2030 World Cup, which will be held in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. The 2030 bid, which has no rival, will also be put to a vote by member states on December 11. It also received a rating of 4.2 out of 5, with the only moderate risk factors being stadiums, accommodation, transportation, etc. and the legal framework of the tournament.
The “sustainable event management” and “environmental protection” of a competition held across three continents was deemed “low” risk.
The report says that the “environmental impact assessment and initial carbon footprint assessment by the bidder, together with the outlined commitments, objectives and mitigation measures, provide a good basis for developing effective strategies for managing the negative impacts of the tournament on the planet. and protection of the environment”.
(Top photo: Christopher Pike/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
