“The benefits of a World Cup are vast – for football fans, for the local economy and for multinational companies – but those benefits must be shared. The awarding of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia while the legacy of Qatar 2022 still lies in tatters for thousands of migrant workers who toiled to make it possible should serve as a red flag. As the FIFA circus heads again to a region with the worst human rights protections on several fronts – labour rights, freedom of expression and the press – we cannot tolerate ‘business as usual’ again. FIFA, its sponsors, and multinational companies likely already eyeing up lucrative infrastructure contracts have a legal and ethical responsibility to respect human rights. Particularly those of the most vulnerable migrant workers, who will undoubtedly form the backbone of the “historic transformation” to prepare Saudi Arabia for this global event in 2034.”Phil Bloomer, Executive Director, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
By the numbers (January 1 2022 – December 31 2024)
This tracker will be updated on a monthly basis and includes cases dating from January 2022 in Saudi Arabia. If you would like more information on reading and accessing the data or would like to submit a case to the tracker, please contact us.
101
Allegations
Impacting migrant workers in Saudi Arabia
1
Stadium
Already linked to alleged migrant worker abuse
27%
Construction
Construction workers are particularly at risk of labour abuse
45%
Wage theft
Most frequently reported abuse for migrants in Saudi Arabia
Joint Statement: Award of 2034 men’s World Cup to Saudi Arabia risks lives and exposes FIFA’s empty human rights commitments
A coalition of over 20 Saudi diaspora and Middle East, workers' origin country-based, international, trade union and fan organisations released a joint statement in response to the vote awarding the 2034 World Cup to FIFA. They state FIFA has ignored both civil society warnings of harm, and its own human rights policies in doing so. The statement highlights the obligations of Saudi authorities, and the responsibilities to respect human rights from FIFA, football associations, sponsors and companies seeking to profit from the World Cup.
Human rights concerns
Unions, labour rights, sports and governance, legal and diaspora-led organisations have all raised concerns regarding the potential human rights impacts of the tournament.
BHRLA responds to football, human rights and worker organisations’ "deep concern" at member Clifford Chance "flawed" 2034 World Cup assessment
Eleven organisations - human rights groups, football supporters and worker organisations - have written to global law firm Clifford Chance over concerns AS&H Clifford Chance, which is based in Riyadh, has conducted and produced a "shockingly poor" human rights risk assessment published by FIFA and expected to provide the basis for awarding the hosting and staging of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia.
Public Investment Fund "facilitated and benefited" from human rights abuses, finds Human Rights Watch report
In November 2024, Human Rights Watch released a report alleging Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has benefited from and facilitated human rights abuses. The report found the PIF is controlled predominantly by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who uses the economic power of the PIF to whitewash government abuses, instead of using the sovereign wealth fund for the benefit of the Saudi people.
BWI files ILO forced labour complaint ahead of 2034 FIFA World Cup bid amid 'epidemic' of migrant worker abuse
In a landmark case, Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) has filed a complaint against Saudi Arabia under Article 24 of the ILO constitution, amid widespread human rights violations against migrant workers in the country. In this case, the complaint focuses on Saudi Arabia's failure to observe ILO conventions on forced labour, which the country has ratified.