The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) trade union, which has previously criticised FIFA for awarding the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, has signed a new five-year collaboration agreement with the global football federation.
The partnership, which runs though to 2030, sets a framework for joint inspections, training, and reporting to promote decent and safe working conditions for all workers involved in the construction and renovation of stadiums and other infrastructure linked to FIFA tournaments.
The agreement, signed recently by BWI President Per-Olof Sjöö and FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström, establishes a formal structure for cooperation between both organisations.
“This agreement builds on years of experience and critical partnership,” said Ambet Yuson, BWI’s General Secretary. “It provides a clear process not only to monitor but also to prevent and remedy abuses, ensuring that commitments to human rights translate into concrete improvements for workers.”
The two organisations also worked together in Qatar, which hosted the 2022 World Cup, to work toward improved labour standards.
However, the BWI later criticised FIFA for not seeing through further changes in Qatar, as well as the decision to hand the 2034 tournament to Saudi Arabia.
According to international media, Yuson, cited by The Guardian newspaper, accused FIFA of conducting a bidding process “without any robust assessment” and saying the tournament left the risk of a “permanent stain in the world of sport.”
Under the latest accord, BWI and FIFA will conduct joint labour inspections of FIFA World Cup and other worksites and undertake training and capacity building for workers’ representatives, grievance handling, and occupational health and safety.
BWI said in a statement that the new agreement consolidates previous experiences from past tournaments into a formal platform for dialogue, monitoring, prevention and remedy, ensuring lessons learned are applied and that violations, where identified, are addressed in a transparent and timely way.
With upcoming confirmed global tournaments in Canada, Mexico and the United States (2026), Brazil (2027), Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay (2030), North and Central America (2031), and Saudi Arabia (2034), the collaboration will be implemented across diverse political and industrial contexts.
Both organisations acknowledge the importance of maintaining transparency, accountability, and constructive engagement to ensure that workers’ rights are respected throughout the relevant supply chains, noted FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström.
“Like BWI, FIFA takes workers’ rights very seriously. It is essential that all workers involved in projects connected to FIFA tournaments enjoy good working conditions, a fair income, safety in the workplace, social protection and integration. We want to ensure that everyone benefits when a country hosts a FIFA tournament, and that includes those who build the infrastructure.”
