3Future World Cups
44.We welcome FIFA’s introduction in 2017 of human rights requirements for countries bidding to host the World Cup. This step followed controversy over the selection of Russia for the 2018 tournament and Qatar for 2022, related to their governments’ treatment of LGBT individuals, among other concerns. Under the new rules, bidders must formally commit to respecting international human rights standards. They must submit a report identifying human rights risks associated with the tournament, and the mechanisms that will be put in place to address them, including an independent expert assessment of the country’s human rights context.121 These requirements have been applied to the selection process for the 2026 host. On 13 June, FIFA members are expected to select either Morocco, or a joint bid from the USA, Canada and Mexico. This will be a test case for FIFA’s reformed bidding process, as—for example—same-sex relationships constitute a criminal offence in Morocco.122
Future World Cups: Conclusions
45.We regret that the World Cup is hosted by countries with poor human rights records, and which pose a heightened degree of risk to football fans. The FCO should monitor the selection process for the 2026 World Cup hosts, and report back to us its assessment of how effectively the new conditions have served to ensure that host countries respect human rights—including the rights of LGBT and BAME individuals. That report should also set out what further steps are needed to ensure that FIFA treats human rights considerations adequately; and how the FCO and other departments intend to feed back to FIFA on this point. We ask to receive this report by the end of September.
121 Guide to the Bidding Process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, FIFA, 7 November 2017, chapter 5
122 AP Exclusive: Morocco World Cup Bid Masks Homosexuality Ban, Associated Press, 16 April 2018
Published: 8 June 2018