Protect the People Behind the World Cup: Coalition Demands Worker and Community Protections from FIFA and LASEC
Labor, community, environmental and human rights organizations release recommendations urging stronger accountability for FIFA and its corporate sponsors
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Workers, fans, and community members held a rally outside of Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission (LASEC) headquarters in Downtown Los Angeles.
The coalition of labor, community, environmental and human rights organizations called on FIFA, LASEC, the Los Angeles Host Committee, and corporate sponsors to address human rights, labor, immigrant rights, and environmental concerns before future games in Los Angeles.
The coalition also delivered two letters: one to LASEC urging adoption of core human rights safeguards, and another to FIFA calling for strong human and labor rights protections and accountability for corporate sponsors.
Participants carried a jumbo‑sized “red card,” along with banners and posters, and called on FIFA and LASEC to do the following:
Require comprehensive and publicly available human rights plans before future games, including:
- Require human rights plans to include concrete prevention strategies, timelines, funding, implementation details, and accountability measures.
- Engage workers, service providers, survivor leaders, immigrant rights groups, labor partners, and community-based organizations early in the planning process
Ensure corporate sponsor accountability, including:
- FIFA must ensure corporate sponsor accountability as a condition of sponsorship, and end its sponsorship agreement with Hyundai-Kia unless they address issues linked to their supply chain, such as allegations related to the disappearance of community leaders involved in land rights disputes surrounding supplier mining operations, child labor violations, and preventable worker deaths.
Jobs to Move America
“Our team has spent years documenting labor abuses across Hyundai‑Kia’s U.S. supply chain, and the findings are impossible to ignore. Workers in the supply chain have faced dangerous and exploitative conditions, including violations of health and safety and child labor laws . As a corporate sponsor, Hyundai cannot continue to benefit from the global spotlight while its supply chain leaves workers at risk. FIFA, LASEC, and host committees must engage workers, service providers, survivor leaders, immigrant rights groups, labor partners, and community-based organizations early in the planning process.” – Valerie Lizárraga, Assistant Director of Policy & Organizing, Western States
Sunita Jain Anti‑Trafficking Initiative at Loyola Law School
“FIFA’s 2026 human rights plan falls far short of what workers and communities deserve. Mega‑events of this scale carry real risks for labor trafficking, wage theft, and exploitation, but the current framework lacks the funding, transparency, and accountability needed to prevent harm. LASEC and FIFA must require comprehensive and publicly available human rights plans for future sporting events that protect workers and communities before, during, and long after the games leave town.” – Paloma Bustos, Policy Associate
Public Citizen
“The record is clear: Hyundai‑Kia’s supply chain is marred by documented human rights abuses, environmental destruction, and labor exploitation. The World Cup’s corporate sponsors cannot continue to profit while workers, communities, and our planet bear the deep impacts of corporate misconduct. FIFA must adopt enforceable standards that hold sponsors accountable and ensure its tournaments do not come at the expense of human dignity or environmental protections.” – Abhilasha Bhola, Climate Campaigns Director
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE)
“For too long, mega-events have been rife with wage theft and unsafe conditions for workers. Worse, under this administration workers at hotels and stadiums are forced to contend with a potential ICE presence that poses a threat to themselves and fans alike. As the leading local organization in attracting mega-events, LASEC has a special responsibility to ensure events such as the World Cup and its sponsors uphold the highest levels of labor and human rights standards. We deserve mega-events that not only do not harm Angelenos but ensure that workers and residents share in the benefits they create.” – Víctor Sánchez, Executive Director
Photos from the rally are available here for use. (Credit: Neil Rivas)
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