December 10 – On the eve of FIFA officially naming Saudi Arabia as the host for the 2034 World Cup, the United Nations’ chief human rights official has waded into the controversy.
In a timely intervention, Volker Türk (pictured) has reminded the world about respecting the plight of migrant workers and the need to keep human rights at the top of the moral agenda.
“What we are involved in though is to make sure that indeed, in each and every major sporting event, human rights are part and parcel of the way that sports events are not only conceived but also conducted,” Türk told a news conference before the UN’s annual Human Rights Day.
With Saudi Arabia positioned as the sole candidate after being fast-tracked into pole position, the 2034 award is expected to be finalised on Wednesday during an online meeting of FIFA’s 211 member federations – by acclamation and without a formal vote.
The oil-rich kingdom’s World Cup plan needs to build eight of the 15 promised stadiums from scratch and will rely heavily on migrant workers.
Two United States senators have already cited human rights in urging FIFA to find a different host, a call that has fallen on deaf ears as has similar pleas by leading human rights organisations.
“Whatever the decision is, to whoever is going to organize it, we will provide precisely that type of advice to the organisers,” Türk added. “That will include also, of course, the need to make sure that migrant labour standards are properly respected and all the various other human rights dimensions of major sporting events.”
Alongside confirming Saudi Arabia as the 2034 host, FIFA will simultaneously confirm that the 2030 World Cup will be held in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, with one match each in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay to honour the centennial of the first World Cup in 1930.
Significantly, in a break with tradition (not for the first time), Gianni Infantino will not have to take any questions from the media since there is no press conference scheduled for after the non-vote – despite the fact that two World Cups are involved with seven host nations in all.
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