Morning Interactive Workshops – Day II
United 2026: Learning from Beijing, Qatar, and London
Time: 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Room: Ceremonial Classroom
Participants
• Minky Worden, Human Rights Watch (facilitator)
• Mary Harvey, Center for Sports and Human Rights
• Gigi Alford, Sport and Rights Alliance, World Players Trade Union
• Cathy Feingold, AFL-CIO, ITUC
• Professor Robert Stumberg, Georgetown University Law Center
Background Information
In 2026, the United States, Canada, and Mexico will host the World Cup. The United Human Rights
Strategy includes human rights criteria for the first time to avoid serious human rights abuses associated
with FIFA and World Cup host countries in past events—as in Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022)—and their
supply chains for licensed merchandise. FIFA now requires hosts of the World Cup to exercise leverage
and influence through impact assessments, ongoing due diligence, remediation, and transparency, the
four pillars of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The United Human Rights Strategy covers public procurement in host cities and (related supply chains) and serves as a model for licensed goods in FIFA’s supply chains. This is a transformative opportunity—and responsibility—to advance human rights protections. Our keynote speaker will share how the Strategy was published, the role of stakeholders, and next steps to ensure implementation.
Mary Harvey, 1991 Women’s World Cup champion goalkeeper, gold medal Olympian, and newly appointed CEO of the Center for Sport and Human Rights, will outline the criteria in the Human Rights Strategy, which she helped to shape while overseeing the human rights part of the bid. Gigi Alford and Bob Stumberg will discuss efforts underway by civil society to draft and demand stakeholder consultations to improve labor and human rights in the 17 US cities bidding for 10 slots to host the games. FIFA’s Human Rights Advisory Board notes that the 2026 World Cup is the first to fully embed FIFA’s commitment to monitor human rights compliance in World Cup supply chains. This panel affords the first public opportunity to engage key civil society organizations on the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Resources