FIFA World Cup 26 Houston™ has created a community-driven human rights plan to mitigate adverse impacts associated with hosting the FIFA World Cup 2026™ if designated as a host. The plan was designed following consultation with more than 100 local, national, and global stakeholders across eight human rights areas:

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1. Safety and Security

2. Worker’s Rights

3. Migrants

4. Non-Discrimination

5. Human Trafficking

6. Right to Participate

7. Housing Rights

8. Disability Access

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The plan is based on transparency, accountability, and oversight – the pillars of good governance. In that spirit, FIFA World Cup 26 Houston™ has made the report available, as well as additional documents that may be of interest to Houstonians and the human rights community at large: 

 

- HOU26 Human Rights Report (as submitted to FIFA)

– HOU26 Human Rights Report Addendum (as submitted to FIFA following Human Rights Plan presentation)

– HOU26 Human Rights Report - Consulted Stakeholders 

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The plan advances 73 human rights opportunities prioritized by stakeholders and built-in enforcement mechanisms, with the goal of creating a human rights utopia and ensuring a positive legacy around the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Houston and beyond. Proposed opportunities include Regulatory and Human Rights Audits with a Feedback Mechanism (10 opportunities), Responsible and Transparent Procurement (5 opportunities), Contracts and Compliance (8 opportunities), Policies and Procedures (8 opportunities), Creating Funding Streams through the Bid Committee (3 opportunities), Building Capacity of Existing Resources (7 opportunities), Collaboration and Public/Private Partnerships (12 opportunities), Training and Awareness (10 opportunities), and Community Engagement and Outreach (10 opportunities).

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Process Summary

Stakeholders were asked to complete a pre-meeting survey to capture their individual expertise on risks associated with hosting the FIFA World Cup 2026™. They ranked risks by priority level and linked them to activities associated with hosting, such as preparing public venues.

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During a subsequent meeting organized by the FIFA World Cup 26 Houston™ Human Rights Sub-Committee involving stakeholders and facilitators, identified risks were further prioritized, with the most critical advancing to the next phase to identify mitigation opportunities.

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Stakeholders were then tasked with developing opportunities to address the prioritized risks in another pre-meeting survey and subsequent meeting, which led to the creation of a final list of opportunities and activities that served as the basis of the 200-page Human Rights Report.

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In addition to this process, FIFA World Cup 26 Houston™ consulted with numerous other agencies with a national and international reach to further inform the plan.