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FIFA today announced that in partnership with Qatar it was launching a USD 50 million Legacy Fund for the 2022 World Cup, with funding to the World Health Organization (WHO), World Trade Organization (WTO) and UNCHR, the UN Refugee Agency.

The fund does not include any compensation for affected workers, though it provides some funding for the WHO’s ‘Beat The Heat’ programme to protect workers from heat stress in the future. Amnesty International reported that many workers died as a result of working in extreme heat in Qatar, while workers are also likely to be at high risk in preparing the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a broad coalition of human rights organizations, trade unions, fans’ representative groups, players unions called for FIFA to provide at least USD 440 million in compensation to workers – equivalent to the prize money provided to competing teams. The call was backed by a number of Football Associations and FIFA sponsors, while opinion polls showed overwhelming support from the public. To date, this has been ignored by FIFA.

In March 2023, FIFA commissioned an independent report to advise on whether it had responsibility to provide remedy for abuses committed in connection to the World Cup. The report is yet to be published, but is believed to recommend the provision of remedy to a significant number of workers

Past FIFA Legacy Funds for the World Cups in South Africa, Brazil and Russia were reported to be worth USD 100 million each – double the size of the Qatar fund. FIFA generated over USD 7 billion from the 2022 World Cup.