ATLANTA: Human rights scandals have marred World Cup tournaments for years, but FIFA is testing a new protocol requiring all host committees to develop action plans to protect human rights for the 2026 games in North America.
With the games less than a year away, though, FIFA’s commitment to upholding human rights is still under scrutiny. Human rights advocates who wanted more enforceable standards and clearer directions for local officials say FIFA watered down a more robust model for the plans.
“Even though where we landed is very different than what we had consulted them on, the existence of the framework is in many ways unprecedented. Sports bodies have not had human rights frameworks that reflected the breadth of issues covered across so many jurisdictions. But the plan is just a plan. It’s not self-executing,” said Jennifer Li, director of the O’Neill Institute’s Center for Community Health Innovation at Georgetown Law and national coordinator of the Dignity 2026 Coalition, which is working with FIFA on human rights.
Adding to advocates’ unease, several US host committees said they couldn’t meet a March deadline for an early draft of their plans. A FIFA spokesperson said the governing body has been working closely with host cities and counties, which they say are on track to develop final action plans by the Aug. 29 deadline. Sixteen North American sites will host games, including 11 in the US
Human rights concerns in North America look different from those in other countries where FIFA has come under fire, which had few protections for workers and massive stadium and transportation construction projects. Migrant workers labored in Qatar’s scorching heat for more than a decade before the 2022 World Cup there, and human rights advocates worry migrant workers’ lives are again at risk in Saudi Arabia, which will host the games in 2034.
FIFA’s suggestions for the 2026 plans include guidelines on nondiscrimination, security, preventing trafficking, protecting unhoused people and workers’ rights, including for migrant workers.
“The host communities are quite invested in their legacy, so they’ve stepped up,” said labor rights expert Deborah Greenfield, who is in an expert advisory group supporting FIFA’s human rights work for 2026.
Local tensions rise
US President Donald Trump has ramped up immigration enforcement across the country, stirring fears that federal law enforcement officers will arrest workers and even travelers during the games. Trump imposed a travel ban on 12 countries in June, and seven face restrictions.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has close ties to Trump. A FIFA spokesperson said it is working with a White House task force to “bring millions of people from different nations and communities” together in the US
Protesters in Miami-Dade County gathered outside FIFA’s offices in June to demand that the governing body protect travelers and workers and speak out against Trump’s immigration moves. That came after a Club World Cup event hosted in the area by Spanish-language TV network Telemundo was canceled after an unexpected Coast Guard inspection involving at least one Border Patrol agent, local outlets reported.
“There’s no guarantee that you might not have ICE posted up at the World Cup,” South Florida AFL-CIO President Jeff Mitchell said.
Local organizers don’t seem to have their human rights plan ready and haven’t agreed to meet with the union, Mitchell said. He noted that the region has a history of wage theft in a state with weak heat protection laws for workers.
“Organizations like FIFA like to say that they have these human rights efforts, but they aren’t pushing it,” Mitchell said. “They’re leaving it up to the locals to do it. What tends to happen is everybody gets their bag and then they turn a blind eye to making sure people are getting paid properly or not being harassed.”
Miami-Dade officials referred The Associated Press to the local host committee, which did not respond to requests for comment.
More than 9,000 unhoused people were arrested when Atlanta prepared to host the Olympics in 1996, and a plan to eliminate homelessness downtown before the World Cup worries advocates that unhoused people will be jailed again.
Atlanta officials and partners say the Downtown Rising plan is a part of the mayor’s larger investments in reducing homelessness and building affordable housing. The goal is to house people, not put them in jail, officials say.
In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom called on cities to ban encampments in May and offered money for mental health and substance use treatment. Cities with impending sporting events have ramped up enforcement, including San Jose, where unhoused people who reject three offers of shelter will now be eligible for arrest on trespassing charges. The mayor said the policy would encourage people to move inside.
“This panic rush to disappear visible signs of poverty is very concerning,” said Dr. Mark Spencer, an Atlanta hospital physician involved in local advocacy. “Politicians and the business community know that visible signs of poverty are unpopular, and that’s the driving force behind what is happening. It’s not about human rights in any meaningful way.”
Working to address standards
FIFA’s human rights policy published in 2017 mandates bidders for the men’s 2026 World Cup to respect “international human rights and labor standards according to the United Nations’ guiding principles.”
A group of international lawyers filed a formal complaint to FIFA in May claiming the soccer body is failing to uphold its human rights policy with 2034 World Cup host Saudi Arabia.
In North America, Greenfield said FIFA is taking the goal of having a tournament “that respects and promotes human rights” seriously and she wouldn’t be participating in the effort if she didn’t think that was possible.
Candace Stanciel, Atlanta’s chief equity officer, said the city was committed to human rights work before FIFA came in and launched efforts to combat human trafficking in airports, hotels and public transport. Officials are working on potential language tools, accessibility measures for people with disabilities and an app to report issues including human rights abuses.
One of Seattle’s largest labor organizations and the city’s organizing committee signed a labor standards agreement last year. The International Labour Organization called FIFA’s human rights framework “an important step forward in harnessing the power of sport to advance decent work globally,” adding that it aligns with international labor standards.