FIFA urged not to give 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia in report alleging abuses of migrant labor

GENEVA (AP) — FIFA was urged Wednesday not to give Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup hosting rights next week without binding commitments to protect migrant labor working on massive projects in the kingdom.

Human Rights Watch detailed alleged abuses after speaking to more than 150 current and former workers, and families of some who died in Saudi Arabia, over two years for the report “Die First, And I’ll Pay You Later.”

They alleged abuses including paying illegal and excessive recruitment fees, forced labor, wage theft, working in extreme heat and lack of legal protection. Researchers spoke to workers in construction, hospitality, private health services and retail sectors.

“Saudi authorities are systematically failing to protect them from and remedy these abuses,” Human Rights Watch said. “This blatant failure to protect migrant workers creates a near certainty that the 2034 World Cup ... will be stained with pervasive rights violations.”

Saudi Arabia is the only candidate to host the 2034 tournament at an online meeting of FIFA’s 211 member federations next Wednesday.

FIFA scrutiny

FIFA is set to ask members to acclaim Saudi Arabia and the sole candidate to host the 2030 World Cup — Spain, Portugal and Morocco, plus single games in each of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay — without an itemized vote.

FIFA has resisted calls from independent rights activists and lawyers calling for greater scrutiny of the Saudi World Cup plan including access for international observers. They say FIFA risks repeating a decade of similar issues that tainted preparations for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar despite consistent warnings by groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

Qatar did reform much of the “kafala” labor system that ties workers to employers, and exists also in Saudi Arabia, though critics said laws were not always enforced.

An in-house evaluation by FIFA of the Saudi bid praised it last week while noting it must invest “significant effort and time” to comply with international rights standards, which were widely criticized this year at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

What does Saudi Arabia plan to build before the World Cup?

Most of the 15 stadiums in the World Cup proposal; hotels to add 175,000 available rooms in the five host cities rail, road and airport upgrades; the futuristic mega city Neom.

Eight stadiums must be built from scratch including a 92,000-seat arena in Riyadh set to host the opening game and final. Three are currently being built for the 2027 Asian Cup. The other four will be upgraded or renovated.

The stadium in Neom was promised in July to be “the most unique stadium in the world” with a field elevated 350 meters above ground. Human Rights Watch describes mega-projects like Neom as “management consultant-abetted fantasies” backed by sovereign money from the Public Investment Fund.

Who is working there?

The report says there are 13.4 million migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, or about 40 percent of the population.

Bangladesh provides the largest quota of the foreign population with 15.8% of the total, Human Rights Watch said. About 14% of the total come from each of India, Pakistan and Yemen.

The report cited Bangladeshi government figures that 498,000 of its residents traveled to Saudi Arabia in 2023 to work. It said 887 Bangladeshis died in Saudi Arabia between January and July this year, and 80 percent were attributed to “natural causes.”

“These numbers are expected to surge as Saudi Arabia ramps up its recruitment for the preparation and delivery of the myriad mega-projects linked to Vision 2030,” the report said, citing the national modernization program of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

What does Human Rights Watch call for?

FIFA is urged to “postpone any announcement that the World Cup would go to Saudi Arabia, until migrant workers’ and women’s rights, press freedom, and other human rights are protected.”

Human Rights Watch calls for “meaningful” engagement from FIFA with “migrant worker communities in Saudi Arabia and with independent human rights groups” over the next 10 years.

Governments in migrant workers’ home countries are asked to strengthen embassy support for their citizens and educate them about their rights. Also to lobby Saudi authorities for “a non-discriminatory minimum living wage.”

Companies working on PIF-backed projects are urged to carry out independent due diligence in line with UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and announce their public commitments.

World Cup sponsors “should set up a remedy fund that could compensate migrant workers and their families for wage abuses, injuries, and deaths building World Cup infrastructure.” FIFA currently has no sponsors signed through 2034.

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