Call to Revoke Saudi Arabia’s Hosting of the World Cup: Justice First

The recent legal complaint submitted by Alkarama to both the United Nations Special Procedures and FIFA marks a turning point in the global fight for justice, accountability, and human rights. For the first time, FIFA’s Human Rights Grievance Mechanism is being used to challenge its decision to award the 2034 World Cup to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—one of the world’s most notorious abusers of human rights.

This detailed complaint exposes serious procedural and legal flaws in FIFA’s decision-making process: a rushed, opaque bid that bypassed meaningful consultation, ignored fundamental human rights concerns, and resulted in Saudi Arabia being selected without a single competing bid. FIFA’s decision was not based on merit, transparency, or ethical standards—it was a political deal sealed behind closed doors.

Worse still, the Saudi authorities commissioned a law firm to produce a so-called human rights assessment riddled with omissions. The report failed to address core violations, including the criminalisation of dissent, the arbitrary detention and torture of human rights defenders, the abuse of anti-terror laws, and the brutal repression of the Howeitat tribe in NEOM. Its conclusions were based entirely on state-controlled sources, with no consultation with independent civil society, labour unions, or affected communities.

Saudi Arabia’s human rights record is not a matter of opinion—it is well-documented by UN mechanisms and rights organisations:

– Peaceful activists are forcibly disappeared and tortured

– Detainees are denied medical care and due process

– Migrant workers face deadly exploitation

– Minors and protesters are sentenced to death

In March 2025, the first documented death of a migrant worker on a World Cup 2034 construction site occurred. This is not an isolated incident—it is a warning. A warning that FIFA’s decision will cost lives.

Awarding Saudi Arabia the World Cup legitimises repression, silences victims, and sends a clear message: that sports can be used to whitewash authoritarianism, and that FIFA is willing to look away.

We join the demand to revoke the hosting rights granted to Saudi Arabia, and to restart the bidding process with full transparency, credible human rights due diligence, and enforceable human rights benchmarks.

Justice must come before football.

There can be no World Cup built on torture, surveillance, and graves.