A long-awaited Fifa report into the legacy of the Qatar World Cup has been published, but only after its key recommendation was rejected by the organisation.
Fifa’s subcommittee on human rights and social responsibility has found that the game’s world body “has a responsibility” to provide financial remedy to workers who suffered loss as a result of employment at the 2022 World Cup. Its report argues that Fifa should use its Qatar legacy fund for those workers. Two days before the report was published, however, Fifa announced that the $50m fund would be used on international development projects instead.
The subcommittee was commissioned in March last year to examine Fifa’s obligations arising from the tournament and its impact on those workers who experienced harm. The report was submitted last December but it is understood that internal resistance meant it only came out 11 months later, at midnight central European time on Friday.
The report contains an independent assessment by the human rights consultancy Human Level. It acknowledges a number of measures Fifa undertook with Qatari authorities to improve conditions, but “a number of severe human rights impacts did ultimately occur in Qatar from 2010 through 2022 for a number of workers connected to the 2022 World Cup” and that “a credible argument can be made that Fifa contributed to some of the impacts”.
Publication was welcomed by Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian football federation, whose submission to the Fifa congress in 2023 initiated the report. “It’s very important that it’s been published,” she said. “I really want to celebrate that, even though it’s been a year of work to get it out. I want to congratulate Michael Llamas who leads this committee and also Dominique Blanc of the Swiss federation who led Uefa’s work on this.”
Fifa is signed up to the United Nations’ guiding principles on business and human rights, which holds companies responsible for the impact of their work, while its article 6 says: “Fifa is committed to providing for or cooperating in remediation where it has caused or contributed to adverse human rights impacts.” Klaveness said the subcommittee’s report will lead to a better understanding of those human rights obligations.
“It sets out some framework of what is Fifa responsible for and what it is not. This is very important,” she said. “It actually does the analysis of the categorisations of workers and areas where Fifa has responsibility. It also says something about why Fifa is responsible and it attaches it to article 6. It’s important that these responsibilities are not just [the result of] political pressure or media pressure, it’s actually within the statutes of Fifa and need implementation. These frameworks can now be used if we all fight for it and work for it in the future.”
The $50m fund is to be spent with the World Health Organisation, World Trade Organisation and the UN refugee agency the UNHCR. This, Klaveness said, was “very positive, but it is in no way a substitute for the remedy that is pointed out in this report. It’s not necessarily important how the funds are delivered but that they are done so in timely, effective and meaningful fashion.”
A Fifa spokesperson said: “All reports and recommendations were considered during a comprehensive review by the Fifa administration and relevant bodies. While all recommendations could not be met, practical and impactful elements were retained. It should be noted that the study did not specifically constitute a legal assessment of the obligation to remedy.
“The creation of the Fifa World Cup 2022 legacy fund was unanimously endorsed by the Fifa council following a proposal made by the Fifa governance, audit and compliance committee. A workers’ support and insurance fund was established in Qatar in 2018 and Fifa believes the new legacy fund, endorsed by recognised international agencies, is a pragmatic and transparent initiative that will encompass social programmes to help people most in need across the world.”
There is now less than a fortnight until an online meeting of the Fifa congress will be invited to approve Saudi Arabia’s lone bid to host the World Cup in 2034. Despite widespread criticism from non-governmental organisations, trade unions and lawyers that the kingdom’s human rights record should disqualify it from contention, Fifa described the risk of human rights violations as “medium” in an assessment of the bid.
Also published on Friday night, the assessment found the Saudi bid to be “a very strong all-round proposition” that “clearly demonstrated” the country’s suitability as a host. “Whilst implementing the various measures outlined in the Human Rights Strategy could involve significant effort and time,” the assessment said, “concrete commitments made by the bid and all local stakeholders do provide a foundation from which all parties can work together constructively.”
On Saturday there were reports that the Saudi bid, and the pan-European bid to host in 2030, may not be put to a vote at the congress at all and may instead be approved by “acclamation” or a round of applause.
