In the run up to and during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, we repeatedly emphasised to Football Associations their shared responsibility to respect the human rights of workers impacted by the tournament. With six months to kickoff we wrote to the associations of the 31 qualified teams and invited them to disclose information on their human rights risk assessments and due diligence processes, receiving responses from 12 associations. Disappointingly, no association addressed the questions regarding risk assessment or due diligence in any meaningful detail.

Six months after the final whistle, we released a report documenting the widespread and acute labour rights abuse experienced by migrant workers during the tournament. Our report analysed the testimonies of 78 workers employed during the World Cup. We found every worker experienced at least one form of labour exploitation.

Abuse started in the recruitment process, with many workers paying recruitment fees of up to several thousand dollars. Workers’ employment conditions were frequently violated; and, despite key reforms to Qatari labour law, workers were still largely unable to change employer. Following abuse, most workers could not access non-retaliatory grievance mechanisms or remedy.

Outreach

In June 2023, we again approached the associations of the 31 teams who took part in the tournament, to share our latest report and invite them to:

1. Respond to the findings of the report; and,
2. Disclose information regarding the risks to workers detected by their systems during the tournament, including:

• How many reports of abuse the organisation detected among contracted companies’ workforces, including at team and staff hotels;
• The steps the organization took in response to those reports; and,
• The steps taken to remedy and compensate workers, including amounts reimbursed in the case of recruitment fee-payment and wage theft.

Responses from the football associations of Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Wales can be read in full below.

The football associations of Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, South Korea , Spain, Tunisia, United States of America and Uruguay did not respond. This page will be updated as non-responding associations provide information.