On the eve of FIFA’s extraordinary congress, the Swiss FA (SFV) has confirmed they will back the Saudi bid for the 2034 World Cup, but demand human rights must be monitored by both FIFA and the ILO.

The Swiss FA did not want to take a position until FIFA published the 2034 bid evaluation. The world governing body did so handing Saudi Arabia 4.2 out of 5, the highest score in FIFA bidding history. The human rights risk assessment was deemed medium.

SVF president Dominique Blanc said the federation has written to FIFA outlining a series of proposals covering the human rights situation.

“We will agree on 2030 and 2034, but at the same time we will raise our concerns about Saudi Arabia’s 2034 candidacy. We have formulated these specific points in the area of ​​workers’ and human rights in a letter to FIFA and have also made demands and put forward proposals,” he said.

Blanc said that the human rights policy in the Saudi bid was “far-reaching to protect workers and human rights, which is what prompted us to agree to the candidacy.”...

“But there are some vague points,” continued Blanc. “Specifically, we are demanding that FIFA and the organisers set up independent control and appeal bodies, in addition to the International Labor Organization (ILO). The right to freedom of expression and freedom of the press, as well as comprehensive protection against any discrimination during the World Cup, particularly on the basis of gender, sexual orientation and religion, are also fundamental to us.

“In this regard, too, we believe that FIFA and the organisers have a duty, together with renowned, independent, international organisations, to look closely, observe and monitor that the commitments made to workers, teams, fans and media representatives are maintained.”

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