We harness the power of our partners to hold global sport accountable and advance human rights on & off the field. Join the movement ⤵️

Joined January 2021
On International Human Rights Day, join us in moving the world in a better direction, where sport is an authentic force for good. ➡️ Support our movement: sportandrightsalliance.org/d… #HumanRightsDay #OurEverydayRights
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
🚨 The 2026 @FIFAWorldCup exposed the gap between human rights commitments & reality. 📢 Our new joint report with the @Sport_Rights underlines the concerns linked to this summer's tournament & calls for accountability, reform, & proper protection. 🔗 bit.ly/4jkHsKb
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
🧵The 2026 Men's World Cup exposed a failure of #FIFA's leadership to implement its own human rights policies, with the pursuit of record revenues prioritised over fairness and equality - NEW REPORT OUT
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
⚖️ Free the #Eritrea16 🇪🇷 Before his arrest, Jimi’ie Kimeil, sports editor at a state-owned paper, was warned to stop writing critically about authorities. In 2001, he condemned a government’ decision to give a visiting International Olympic Committee delegate a cross as Eritrea was a multi-faith country. September marks the 25th anniversary of the arrest of the Eritrea 16, among the longest-detained journalists in the world. They have been arbitrarily imprisoned, without trial or access to their families, for a quarter of a century. Several are feared dead. CPJ has been unable to confirm reports that Jimi’ie died in custody and retains his name in our database to hold the Eritrean government accountable for his fate. His family has a right to know. Read more: cpj.org/awards/the-eritrea-1…
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
FIFA’s leadership crisis is bigger than one person. Real change requires systemic reforms that embed transparency, accountability, good governance, & human rights at the heart of world football. Otherwise, corruption & abuse will persist. Read: bwint.org/BwiNews/NewsDetail…
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
Instead of upholding human rights and good governance, Gianni Infantino, leader of FIFA—a supposed not-for-profit—is reportedly proposing to create a corporate structure to monetize the @FIFAWorldCup MORE+increase @FIFAcom’s already eye-watering profits. Players, workers and fans: you are the product being sold! It is time to insist #FIFA uphold human rights, transparency, and accountability to those who deliver the game. Story by @martynziegler: thetimes.com/
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
In Comm OTH55/2026 published today, UN Special Procedures say loudly to the @ioc that the new blanket exclusion of intersex and female trans athletes from the Olympic and the invasive relevant tests are against current human rights standards; and ask about the process of adoption
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
The IOC’s policy is not a blanket exclusion. Every qualified athlete can participate – in the category of their sex: trans women (who are male, not ‘female trans’) and XY intersex in the male or open category. The once-a-lifetime test is minimally invasive: it’s a cheek swab. olympics.com/ioc/athletes/m…
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
No matter which national team wins the @FIFAWorldCup on Sunday, US President Donald Trump will be on stage to lift the 🏆trophy--making this World Cup a new sportswashing exemplar; my column in @FORBES: ⚽️ For Next FIFA World Cup, Make Human Rights The Goal forbes.com/sites/minkyworden…
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
🌎❌ World Cups usually bring the world together. Not this one. 🛑 Together with our @Sport_Rights core partners, we are highlighting how visa barriers, discrimination, & exclusion prevented many from attending the 2026 @FIFAWorldCup. 🔗 bit.ly/4ylYuMZ
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
From Putin’s World Cup to the fake “FIFA Peace Prize” to the reversed US red card suspension, a thread on FIFA President Gianni Infantino caving to pressure, breaking @FIFAcom’s own rules and betraying #HumanRights to accommodate autocrats: 🧵
1. In 2013, FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke explained how the governing body of world football picks #WorldCup hosts: "Less democracy is sometimes better for organizing a World Cup... a very strong head of state who can decide, as maybe Putin can do in 2018... that is easier for us organizers." Valcke’s strategy of cozying up to rights abusers outlived his tenure at FIFA: forbes.com/sites/minkyworden… 2. The 2018 Russia World Cup was a vehicle for Vladimir Putin to project prestige while waging a massive crackdown on civil society and #LGBT people. FIFA had just published a landmark Human Rights Policy. The St Petersburg Stadium was built by forced laborers from North Korea, at least one of whom died. hrw.org/news/2018/07/13/russ…. And @Josimar’s “The Slaves of St Petersburg” 3. Qatar 2022 was FIFA's most lucrative World Cup ever—and its deadliest. Migrant workers built $220 billion in stadiums and infrastructure, and thousands died preventable deaths. FIFA's own human rights committee concluded FIFA had "a responsibility" to compensate workers. FIFA shamefully reneged on plans to compensate families under pressure from Qatar, whose Airways reportedly supplies Gianni Infantino’s private jet. hrw.org/news/2021/12/18/qa-m… 4. FIFA's rules require human rights due diligence and rightsholders consultation before awarding a World Cup. For #SaudiArabia 2034, Gianni Infantino oversaw a scheme that effectively eliminated bidding+human rights due diligence, engineering a "sole bid"+handing the tournament to Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman. hrw.org/news/2023/10/27/fifa… 5. At the 2025 US Club World Cup, FIFA obsequiously canceled its own anti-racism+anti-discrimination campaigns, in apparent deference to Trump’s anti-DEI policies. Homophobic chants followed in Atlanta. Infantino claimed there were "no incidents." FIFA had received 145+ human rights complaints. hrw.org/news/2025/07/03/us-f… 6. Gianni Infantino concocted a "FIFA Peace Prize” for Donald Trump. Human Rights Watch wrote to FIFA to ask: —who were the nominees? —what was the process? —who were the judges? —what were the criteria? nytimes.com/athletic/6852219… We got no answer. FIFA's Peace Prize was cravenly created for a president disappointed he didn't win the real one: newsweek.com/fifas-sportswas… 7. As preparations for the 2026 World Cup advanced, US federal agents killed two Americans in Minneapolis. An asylum seeker took his children to the 2025 Club World Cup final—and was deported. @HRW documented that from Trump’s inauguration to March 2026, ICE arrested at least 167,000 people in the 11 US World Cup host cities. FIFA did not use its leverage to mitigate the US immigration crisis: hrw.org/news/2026/04/10/worl…. 8. Ten African nations qualified for the World Cup but Trump imposed bans on travel to the US for citizens from 39 countries, including 26 in Africa.  Many African fans, journalists+family members were banned or had to post “visa bonds” of up to $15,000. FIFA’s response was to side with Trump. @HRW’s @VincentSimaOle: mg.co.za/thought-leader/2026… 9. As World Cup preparations advanced in the US, Trump Administration ICE deaths surged. FIFA’s weak response to the US government’s cruel immigration crackdown squandered an opportunity to make it less deadly. hrw.org/news/2026/06/25/us-d… 10. The world should have been welcome at the 2026 FIFA World Cup; but from banning Somali referee Omar Artan to denying Iranian women fans visas, FIFA failed to defend affected people from Trump’s exclusionary policies: hrw.org/news/2026/06/09/the-… 11. FIFA needs fundamental change if it is to meaningfully protect the rights of fans, workers, journalists and athletes. The beautiful game deserves better than partnerships with ugly autocrats: newsweek.com/beautiful-game-…
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
⚽ As the World Cup moves through its most watched and high-stakes matchdays, global attention is fixed on the pitch -- on the goals, results, rivalries and moments that define the tournament. But every matchday also depends on a vast workforce operating behind the spectacle. From stadium operations, transport and security to cleaning, hospitality, logistics and venue maintenance, workers keep the World Cup moving. Many are exposed to long hours, outdoor work, intense physical labour and rising heat risks. 🌡️ Two weeks ago, Equidem launched the FIFA 2026 Heat Risk Observatory, developed in collaboration with students from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. The interactive dashboard maps heat stress risks across World Cup-linked venues in the United States, Canada and Mexico, helping make visible a serious and foreseeable occupational safety risk for the workers who make the tournament possible. Public discussion on heat and football often focuses on players, fans and match schedules. Yet the labour behind the tournament remains far less visible. As the world follows the drama of the World Cup, FIFA, host governments, contractors and sponsors must act to protect the people working behind the scenes. Extreme heat is not only a climate issue. It is a labour rights issue, a health and safety issue, and an accountability issue. ✊🏾 So keep cheering for your favourite teams but also call on FIFA to stand with the workers whose labour makes every match possible. Workers deserve protection, remedy and dignity, on and off the pitch. Explore the dashboard: fifa2k26-heatstress-equidemx… #FIFAWorldCup2026 #HeatStress #WorkerRights #LabourRights #ClimateJustice #OccupationalSafety #HumanRights #MigrantWorkers #FIFA #TISS #Equidem
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
When #Egypt +#Iran teams meet at Lumen Field in @FIFAWorldCup host city #Seattle tonight, ⚽️ fans will be free to wave the 🌈rainbow flag. @FIFAcom confirmed to @AdamCrafton_ @TheAthleticFC Thursday that it would not bar the symbol from the stadium over formal objections from both countries’ football federations. It is the right call. My analysis for @HRW on #LGBT discrimination in Egypt and Iran, and why a simple act like raising a 🌈Pride flag is unnerving for these governments: hrw.org/news/2026/06/26/at-s…
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
Powerful message about the value immigrants bring, from @FIFAWorldCup @Socceroos winger Awer Mabil for #RefugeeWeek @Sport_Rights @HRW @RefugeesMedia
We're not crying, you're crying 🥹🇦🇺 Socceroos winger Awer Mabil just dropped the most special message at the World Cup. After the squad made a viral video about where they come from, the winger - who was born in a Kenyan refugee camp - explains what makes Australia 'the best country in the world': 'Many different backgrounds. One jersey.' This is what the Socceroos are all about. In Refugee Week, these are beautiful words from a special footballer and person.
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
The FIFA Men’s World Cup corporate partners & sponsors should join calls for an “ICE Truce,” a public commitment from US federal officials to refrain from immigration enforcement operations at all World Cup events and venues. @hrw @Sport_Rights hrw.org/news/2026/06/11/worl…
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
FIFAk etekin ekonomikoa tarteko, zuriketa horren errudun da. La FIFA es complice total de lo que está ocurriendo, como denuncia Andrea Florence, directora de @Sport_Rights: naiz.eus/eu/info/noticia/202…
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
3️⃣ Finally, our statement with the @Sport_Rights core partners on the serious concerns ahead of the tournament. xitter.cf/FansEurope/status/2064…
⌛🏆 With just one day to go, serious concerns remain about whether @FIFA’s promise of a safe, welcoming, & inclusive @FIFAWorldCup will become a reality. 🔗 Full statement from FSE & our @Sport_Rights partners: bit.ly/4eySU1V
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
20 alarming quotes about the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup | Read more 👉zpr.io/xfxv3CN2s4iv @sport_rights
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
⌛🏆 With just one day to go, serious concerns remain about whether @FIFA’s promise of a safe, welcoming, & inclusive @FIFAWorldCup will become a reality. 🔗 Full statement from FSE & our @Sport_Rights partners: bit.ly/4eySU1V
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Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) retweeted
As the 2026 tournament kicks off, *The World Is Worried About The #WorldCup* @FIFAcom should heed fan groups from @3LionsPride to the @FootieMob to the Galactic Ambassadors, who say the World Cup should be a global celebration of soccer—not a cause for fear about abusive US immigration arrests, anti-LGBT policies, and ugly exclusion on the basis of nationality; My article in @Forbes: forbes.com/sites/minkyworden…
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