The 2022 Qatar World Cup left a profound human cost overshadowing FIFA’s record-breaking $7.5 billion profit from the tournament. Investigations by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre revealed that every one of 78 migrant workers interviewed experienced labor exploitation related to their roles in the World Cup. Among these abuses were the paying of illegal recruitment fees by 93 percent of workers, wage theft, and non-payment of overtime, misleading contracts, wages at less than agreed levels, many left in the debt bondage that continues to this day even after the tournament is over.
Groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have continued to document the ongoing nature of these abuses into 2023 and 2024, with the reforms and legacy funds promised still not seal the deal or poorly spent. Steve Cockburn of Amnesty cautioned that the lack of comprehensive protection posed by Qatar would serve to continue an abuse and spoil any so called legacies the tournament may have.
Migrant workers suffered appallingly harsh conditions, with thousands dying as a result of heat exposure, unsafe workplaces, poor housing, and restrictive visa regimes preventing their exit from the country. The tally of deaths has been estimated at 6,500 or higher, a humanitarian tragedy unseen in any prior World Cup preparations.
FIFA’s role and reactions
FIFA’s commissioned independent reports acknowledge significant rights violations but largely assign blame to employers and the Qatari government, while contending that FIFA itself holds responsibility for some consequences. Despite its investment of maybe 50 million dollars into a legacy fund to benefit workers, the fact that these funds have been used in a broad sweep of development projects as opposed to directly remediating workers has been seized upon harshly by the civil society, and labor rights movements.
The fact that the commercial viability of FIFA and the actual experiences of exploited labor force reveals a foundational gap in its governance processes since the organization must balance its desire to safeguard its brand image and to popularize the sport on a global scale with its responsibility to encourage responsible forms of labor practices in host nations.
Emerging concerns in 2034 Saudi World Cup preparations
Early signs of repeated patterns
Preparations for the 2034 Saudi World Cup exhibit troubling parallels to Qatar’s experience. Reports as of mid-2025 indicate migrant labor exploitation risks particularly concentrated in stadium construction sectors, with 33% of workers classified as operating under high-risk conditions for abuse akin to forced labor.
Activists and labor organizations warn that unless FIFA adopts enforceable safeguards and leverages its influence rigorously, the history of exploitation will repeat. The Saudi context, with similar economic structures and labor migration patterns, demands concerted international scrutiny and preemptive measures to ensure that past lessons translate into more rigorous protections.
Structural challenges in FIFA’s event model
FIFA’s model of awarding mega-events to wealthier states with fragile labor protections without imposing binding rights enforcement mechanisms creates an enduring ethical dilemma. The reliance on the migrant labour that belongs to vulnerable countries which seeks to provide infrastructure under the authoritarian or semi authoritarian states entrenches the power imbalances often systemic. In some situations, workers regularly go through dangerous hiring costs, financial obligation and unstable contract terms that recruiters and subcontractors outside of direct FIFA control route them.
This situation is also exacerbated when the geopolitical and commercial interests can influence the selection of the hosts and the association made by FIFA and the idea of labor rights is cast aside to pursue the lucrative deals.
The wider implications for football and human rights
Reputational risks and fan backlash
Such continued misrepresentation works to shatter the attractiveness of the game in the international platform and it poses a danger to the integrity of one of the greatest sports in the world. Alongside social media movements and demonstrations, fans across the global community are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the methods of governance adopted by FIFA as the debate-raising campaigns have brought awareness to the human cost behind all the glitz and glam of the world cup.
A sport that fits the image of football as the unity of sport in the world begins to decay when the props to the spectacles are constructed on the misery of disinherited workers. Ethical issues impose the necessity to invite influences and stakeholders to carry out Poignant governance in FIFA to focus on human dignities in addition to commercial prosperity.
Regulatory and ethical responsibilities
International human rights regimes remind organizing organizations such as FIFA that they have a duty to make sure that mega-events comply with labor rights across the supply chain. Obligatory due diligence, domesticable labor terms, and external observation frameworks are necessary to overcome the cycle of mistreatment that continues to contaminate World Cup preparations chronically.
This gap between the words of FIFA and its actual implementation challenges its commitment to the specified global standards and poses a need for external accountability and closer partnership with governments, civil society, and labor organizations.
Towards meaningful reform and worker protection
The need for binding accountability mechanisms
FIFA needs to shift its response to abuse to say that, by hosting an event, it will actively enforce labor standards. This would include sensible contractual obligations by host countries, clear reporting on conditions of labor and also the consultation of independent labor rights experts capable of coming in to investigate where there is violation.
Reparative frameworks should also be put in place, as personal restitutions and reconstruction should be called in case of workers who suffered during service in preparation of the World Cup, not just the general legacy funds, but concrete solutions.
Multi-stakeholder engagement and political will
To achieve sustainable change, FIFA has to partner with host governments, international organizations, and labor advocacy organizations to establish enforceable standards, which can be duly checked. The universality of human rights imperatives need to be aligned with the commercial interests that a global model depends on in FIFA.
FIFA can be pushed towards reform by pressure exerted by the civil society, scrutiny in the media and increasing awareness among fans. But real change will take not just real change but also political will by host countries to make reforms potentially upsetting established economic forces of interest to those based on exploitation.
The argument about the 2022 and 2034 World Cups is indicative of the conflict between the global aspiration of the football fraternity and the moral responsibility due to the most powerless members of its workforce. The reports of systematic mistreatment, yet again, this time in spite of FIFA committing to stop, bring to the fore an interesting turning point where the globe must call for greater measures other than mere lip service.
As human rights advocate Isobel Archer notably emphasized, the striking disparity between FIFA’s financial gains and the workers’ ongoing hardships signals that the time for real accountability is overdue. The persistence of exploitative practices in the shadow of football’s greatest showcase remains a challenge not only for FIFA but for the global sporting community committed to justice and fairness.
The unfolding story of labor abuses tied to World Cup preparations is a stark reminder that behind the glamour of global football lies a labor market desperately in need of reform—a challenge demanding international resolve, structural change, and sustained vigilance far beyond the final whistle.
