Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday that Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup overlooked international standards and previous labor rights abuses in the country. The rights group also accused FIFA of ignoring its human rights policy by accepting Saudi Arabia’s bid that does not prevent future abuses against workers.

HRW explained that Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid, especially the “independent context assessment,” ignored the country’s record of labor rights violations. These include wage theft, lack of protective equipment, a ban on work unions, and an abusive visa sponsorship system known as “kafala.”

The rights group further elaborated that the assessment did not comply with FIFA’s human rights policy and was limited to human rights instruments jointly selected by FIFA and the Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF). On top of that, the assessment showed no evidence of consultation with external experts such as international organizations, national human rights experts or workers who have suffered human rights abuses. The law firm that drafted it worked exclusively with national government officials. This resulted in disregarding fundamental human rights conventions, namely the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).  Minky Worden, HRW director of global initiatives, pointed out that the special initiatives adopted by Saudi Arabia omitted the workers’ right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Furthermore, the rights groups criticized FIFA’s evaluation of Saudi Arabia’s request to host the 2034 World Cup. Minky Worden said that “FIFA’s fake evaluation process to award the 2034 World Cup without legally binding human rights commitments is a replay of its irresponsible approach to building the World Cup in Qatar, which ultimately cost thousands of migrant workers their lives.” This echoed the concerns of 11 human rights organizations who also found FIFA’s assessment of Saudi Arabia’s bid to be “flawed.”

Therefore, HRW called on FIFA not to vote in favor of Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 World Cup next December until the country demonstrates “proper human rights due diligence” and a serious commitment to labor rights.

Saudi Arabia is a country that relies heavily on migrant labor. It is a member of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and is therefore bound by its fundamental conventions and has been increasing its efforts to improve its labor policy. However, the country remains a non-signatory to many other international human rights instruments, including the ICCPR.

This is not the first time that Saudi Arabia has come under fire for human rights abuse. In June 2024, the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) union filed a complaint against Saudi Arabia for alleged abuses against migrant workers. The country also recently failed to secure a seat in the UN Human Rights Council due to concerns over its human rights record.