FIFA publishes human rights strategy for the 2026 World Cup

Photo of Fauzan Saari in Unsplash

With less than a year to go until the start of the 2026 World Cup in North America, FIFA is launching an unprecedented protocol: requiring all local organizing committees to develop action plans to protect human rights. The measure seeks to prevent a repeat of the scandals that have plagued previous editions, such as the allegations of labor exploitation at Qatar 2022. However, activists and unions fear the initiative will remain on paper.

The international federation is calling on its member states—16 in total, 11 of them in the United States—to include measures against discrimination, human trafficking, labor abuse, and the criminalization of homeless people. Measures to protect migrant workers are also being considered, a sensitive issue in the context of President Donald Trump's tougher immigration policy.

Jennifer Li, director of the Center for Community Health Innovation at Georgetown University and coordinator of the Dignity 2026 coalition, acknowledged that the framework is "unprecedented" in sports, but warned that it "doesn't run on its own" and that FIFA weakened a more ambitious model proposed by experts. In addition, several committees in the U.S. missed the March deadline to submit initial drafts, although FIFA assures that they will have their plans ready by August 29.

Criticism of FIFA's protocol for the 2026 World Cup

In Miami-Dade, unions like the AFL-CIO are denouncing the lack of dialogue with organizers and warning of risks of workplace harassment and immigration repression during the games. "There's no guarantee that ICE won't show up at the World Cup," said Jeff Mitchell, president of the union center in South Florida.

Other host cities are also facing criticism. In Atlanta, activists fear that the city's plan to "revitalize" downtown will lead to mass arrests of homeless people, reminiscent of what happened before the 1996 Olympics. In California, cities like San Jose have toughened policies against street encampments, worrying human rights advocates.

Despite criticism, voices like labor expert Deborah Greenfield argue that FIFA takes its commitment seriously and highlight groundbreaking agreements, such as the one signed in Seattle to guarantee labor standards. The International Labor Organization called the framework "an important step" toward aligning sport with international labor standards.

FIFA adopted its global human rights policy in 2017 and requires all host countries to respect UN principles. But recent experience raises questions: in May, international lawyers alleged that the organization has failed to fulfill its commitments to Saudi Arabia, the host country for the 2034 World Cup.

In the words of physician and activist Mark Spencer, the risk is that the strategy is more of an image exercise than real change: "The goal is to erase the visible signs of poverty, not to meaningfully guarantee human rights."

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Sources:

• AP News