Fifa has been accused for a second time of failing to engage with concerns over human rights risks in Saudi Arabia, two months before the Gulf state is expected to be confirmed as a World Cup host.

The Building and Wood Workers’ International, a trade union that has worked with Fifa on governance reforms and previously signed a memorandum of understanding with the governing body, says it has been ignored in attempts to discuss the exploitation of foreign workers in Saudi.

In June the BWI submitted a complaint to the International Labour Organisation that claimed “an epidemic of abuses” against migrant workers in the Gulf kingdom. Among the examples cited was the case of thousands of Filipino workers who are said to be waiting for financial remedy from the Saudi state after they were denied wages, often over periods of years, by their former employers. The BWI says ­numerous subsequent requests to Fifa “to engage in dialogue about these abuses and to set stringent conditions for hosting” have not been taken up...

Ambet Yuson, the BWI ­general secretary, sat on Fifa’s human rights advisory board until it was dissolved in 2020. He has accused Fifa of ­conducting a bidding process “without any robust assessment” and said awarding the World Cup to Saudi risked a “permanent stain” in the world of sport...

“Whilst no credible assessment of the Saudis’ human rights plans can be made without input from independent organisations on the ground, Fifa must immediately take responsibility and use its leverage to ensure justice for the thousands of workers who have been denied their most basic rights for more than a decade. The time for action is now – before any decision is finalised and injustice becomes a permanent stain in the world of sport.” ...

Fifa and the Saudi ministry of human resources and social ­development have been approached for comment.