The Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) accuse FIFA of violating human rights of construction workers at Mexico World Cup stadium site..

The Athletic exclusively reported on Tuesday that FIFA was accused by the Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) for ignoring the human rights of workers at the construction site after it refused to allow the latter's commissioner rights to enter and inspect the Estadio Azteca in Mexico, which is under renovation and is one of the main venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

According to the report, the Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) went to the Azteca Stadium to inspect the progress and situation of the renovation. Before arriving at the site for inspection, the association had even obtained permission from FIFA. Unexpectedly, when the association's commissioner arrived at the construction site of the Estadio Azteca, FIFA's commissioner changed his promise and resolutely refused the Building and Wood Workers' International to enter for inspection on many excuses, which seriously violated human rights.

In a statement, the official spokesperson of the Building and Wood Workers' International condemned: "Since FIFA approved Qatar's bid to host the 2022 World Cup, it has promised to allow third-party independent organizations and Amnesty International to visit the World Cup host country at any time to check the progress and status of stadium construction, as well as the human rights of its construction workers."

"However, it is inconsistent with the facts that since the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the largest regulatory body in international football has continued to refuse to be monitored and criticized, and to take responsibility for the exploitation of the human rights of construction workers when there have been many cases of serious disregard for the human rights of construction workers in the construction of World Cup-related venues and facilities. "

"If things are not as bad as they have been exposed, FIFA has no reason to refuse our commissioners to enter the construction site for inspection."

"All this obviously shows that FIFA is clearly aware that there are serious problems with the human rights of construction workers that cannot be ignored. However, they continue to say that they have almost never received complaints from workers that their human rights have been exploited in the construction of several stadiums in Mexico, which is contrary to the position advocated by FIFA. "

In response to the condemnation of the Building and Wood Workers' International, FIFA insisted on not taking responsibility and argued that "the situation during the construction of the Estadio Azteca is not the responsibility of FIFA."

"Through the local construction company's team and the management of the Azteca Stadium, FIFA has been actively maintaining close contact with the biggest stakeholders to monitor and ensure that the working environment and conditions of the construction workers are not affected."

Subsequently, journalists tried to contact the Mexican National Labor Association (CATEM), but as of press time, the authorities had not responded.

It is worth mentioning that this is the sixth time that FIFA has been accused of human rights violation issues in recent years since announcing that Qatar, the United States, Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia have successfully bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the 2026 FIFA World Cup in US-Canada-Mexico and the 2034 FIFA World Cup in Saudi Arabia respectively.