Amnesty International (AI) insisted this Monday that Portugal, Morocco and Spain present a credible strategy on human rights, with a view to jointly organizing the 2030 World Cup.

Four months after a first report that presented failures in the commitment of the three countries in this matter, AI now asks FIFA to “condition the granting of the 2030 World Cup to Morocco, Portugal and Spain to develop a much more credible human rights strategy“.

“Morocco, Portugal and Spain must take their human rights responsibilities much more seriously,” said Steve Cockburn, Director of Labor Rights and Sport at Amnesty International.

In the new report, titled “High-risk bids: Dangerously flawed human rights strategies for the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups,” AI says that the three federations “did not assume clear commitments to adequately address the majority of the risks identified by Amnesty International and the SRA (Sport & Rights Alliance).”

At stake are questions such as “the Excessive use of police force against crowds. In all three countries, the misuse of rubber bulletsas well as restrictions on freedom of expression and meetings and the persistence of abuses racist, sexist and homophobic in football.”

The June report also focuses on issues related to accommodationwith less and more expensive offer, for residents in the host cities, in Portugal and Spain, or even for Forced evictions in Moroccoa country where there is an increase in the violation of rights in relationships between people, with the criminalization of extramarital situations or between people of the same sex.

“The 2030 World Cup could provide an opportunity to strengthen human rights protections in all three countries, but only if governments and football federations are willing to work closely with fans, human rights organizations, unions and other affected groups,” the organization warned.

In the new document, AI recalls that the 2030 World Cup will be played in 20 stadiums, in 17 cities in Portugal, Spain and Morocco, in addition to three matches in Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina, and that the plans include a new stadium with a capacity for 115,000 seats on the outskirts of Casablanca, as well as new transport links.

Amnesty International wants to suspend the 2034 World Cup

Amnesty International also defended this Monday that FIFA should suspend the process of choosing Saudi Arabia as the organizing country for the 2034 World Cup, given the risk of serious human rights violations.

The conclusions arise from a new report published this Monday by AI, under the title High Stakes Bids: Dangerously Failed Human Rights Strategies for the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups of the World Football Championship of 2030 and 2034),” says the organization. at a real and human cost in this attribution.

“There will be a real human cost and predictable if the 2034 World Cup is awarded to Saudi Arabia without obtaining credible guarantees of reform. Fans will be victims of discrimination, residents will be forcibly evicted, migrant workers will be victims of exploitation and many will die. FIFA must suspend the process until adequate human rights protections are put in place to prevent an already dire situation from getting worse,” said Steve Cockburn.

The director of Labor Rights and Sports at Amnesty International once again raised all the red flags regarding a new organization of a World Cup in the Middle East, after the organization in 2022 in Qatar.

Cockburn contextualized the scenario that can be expected, in a country that intends to build or renovate 11 stadiums, more than 185,000 additional hotel rooms and with important engineering projects, which include connections and transportation to new cities.

“Saudi Arabia will need large numbers of migrant workers to realize its World Cup ambitions, but there are no commitments to reform the exploitative sponsorship system. kafala [sistema que exige que todos os trabalhadores não qualificados tenham um patrocinador no país, geralmente o seu empregador, que é responsável pelo seu visto e estatuto legal]establish a minimum wage for non-citizens, allow them to join unions or introduce new measures to prevent the death of workers,” he said.

The head of AI also highlighted the lack of freedom of expression in the Gulf country, where people are detained for decades just for speaking, the absence of an adaptation plan to compensate for forced evictions or even the criminalization of LGBTI issues and relationships or rights.

Situations that lead the new Amnesty report to point out that the risks are so high that the organization of the 2024 World Cup in the country will likely lead to “serious and widespread violations of human rights.”

Confirmation of Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2034 World Cup is expected to occur at the FIFA Congress on December 11, 2024, along with the attribution of the 2030 co-hosting to Portugal, Spain and Morocco.

“FIFA seriously damaged its own influence by insisting on reforms in the field of human rights, by continuing a process with only one candidate for each tournament,” also highlighted the non-governmental organization that defends human rights, which also recalls the method unprecedented voting. that will exist: “In October 2024, FIFA also announced that national federations will not be able to vote on each candidacy separately, but will have to approve or reject both candidatures as a package.”