FIFA ASKED TO PAUSE ON SAUDI DECISION

Human rights groups say better reform plans needed before awarding 2034 World Cup

Fifa must halt the process to pick Saudi Arabia as hosts of the 2034 World Cup, unless major human rights reforms are announced before the vote in December, Amnesty International and the Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) have said.

Football's world governing body awarded the 2030 World Cup to Morocco, Spain and Portugal in October 2023, while Saudi Arabia is the lone bidder for the 2034 edition.

Amnesty and the SRA said they had evaluated the human rights strategies proposed by the bidding countries and concluded in a new report that neither bid adequately outlined how they would meet the human rights standards required by Fifa.

They said the risks were far greater in Saudi Arabia and hosting the tournament in the Gulf country would lead to "severe and widespread" human rights violations.

"There will be a real and predictable human cost to awarding the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without obtaining credible guarantees of reform," Steve Cockburn, Amnesty's head of labour rights and sport, said in a statement.

"Fans will face discrimination...migrant workers will face exploitation, and many will die. Fifa must halt the process until proper human rights protections are in place to avoid worsening an already dire situation."