Sport for global justice & human rights

Human rights, sustainable development, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup

From June 11 to July 19, 2026, the Men's Football World Cup will take place in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. What at first glance looks like a tournament in democratic countries, on closer inspection becomes a magnifying glass for human rights abuses: racist police violence, attacks on indigenous communities, femicides, anti-trans laws, and restrictions on reproductive rights are bitter realities in the host countries.

With the project “Sport for Global Justice & Human Rights,” fairplay is responding to the increased public interest in human rights in sport—most recently surrounding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar—and focusing on countries that have been less critically scrutinized to date. The appeal of sport is being used to raise awareness of global justice, human rights-based development policy, and the 2030 Agenda.

Activities

• Campaigns & awareness raising

Under the motto “Be aware and connect!”, media-effective campaign formats will be implemented around the 2026 World Cup, addressing both global inequalities and local opportunities for action. The campaign will kick off with a round table with civil society partners (2025), followed by a campaign presentation at which key demands will be presented to the public.

An information sheet on the 2026 World Cup will provide understandable explanations of development policy and human rights issues. In addition, a Club 2x11 panel will be organized on the role of major sporting events for human rights.

The campaign goal: to raise awareness—for voices from the Global South, for indigenous rights, for feminist struggles, for climate justice.
 

• Media work & global cooperation

In the module “Knowledge matters!”, the project focuses on strong media presence and global perspectives:

Through 10 targeted media collaborations and 20 interviews – half of which feature voices from the Global South – as well as training courses for journalists, development policy issues in sport are brought to the fore. A speaker's tour brings content to seven events across Austria.

In addition, events on climate justice and an art event on indigenous women and football in Mexico are planned.
 

• Dialogue & educational work

The “Be the Change!” module focuses on young people.

The fairplay workshops and fairplay Days bring these topics to clubs, schools, and sports fields with sustainable hands-on activities, moments of reflection, and low-threshold offers for schools, youth centers, and sports clubs.
 

• Political work & networking

Under the motto “Stay engaged!”, the “Sport and Human Rights” working group will continue as a civil society network. Regular meetings and cooperation with sports associations will result in practical approaches to anchoring human rights in organized sports.

Cooperation partners

• Südwind
• Oscar Sánchez / Hinterland Art Association

Other planned partners:

• Association of Footballers (VdF)
• Austrian League for Human Rights
• Fauen*solidarität
• WIDE – Network for Women's Rights
• LEFÖ
• Der Standard
• ORF
• Kurier
• University of Vienna / Centre for Canadian Studies
• FH Kufstein / Institute for Sport and Sustainable Development
• move4sustainability
• Protect Our Winters Austria
• Centre for Sport and Human Rights
• Sport and Rights Alliance
• Equidem
• Africa Global Radio (Ghana)

The project is implemented by the fairplay Initiative in cooperation with national and international partners and is significantly funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).