A spotlight on sport & modern slavery

What is sports trafficking? 

There are many ways in which modern slavery infiltrates sport. Firstly, there is the human trafficking angle which even has its own name: sports trafficking. This involves luring athletes, usually child athletes, from their home country with promises of work, training, and financial rewards, all of which are false offers and do not come to pass.  

According to the U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report, “within Europe’s soccer industry alone, it is estimated there are 15,000 human trafficking victims each year.” 

It explains: “The migration patterns vary by sport, but the exploitative scheme of recruiting, building trust and dependency, and taking control upon a job offer is universal. The confluence of athletes’ desire to play, their families’ hopes of escaping poverty, agents’ desire to profit, leagues’ interest in marketing competitive players and games, and teams’ eagerness to find young talent all create an environment that, if left unregulated, could be ripe for traffickers to exploit.” 

If you are interested in finding out more about sports trafficking, the University of Nottingham’s Rights Lab published a report, focusing on the challenge of identifying sports trafficking and how it fits within existing modern slavery definitions. It states: “the exploitative nature of trafficking in sports is not always apparent and therefore, some cases may seemingly not fall within the scope of the UN’s definition of human trafficking. However, a review of the literature suggests that in some cases, there are various degrees of exploitation, deception and coercion. Like many other types of trafficking, whilst some athletes consent to their transport within and across borders in pursuit of an international career in sport, they can still be exploited on route or within the destination country.” The report also explores the nature of recruitment and exploitation and makes recommendations for future investigation and action.   

Exploitation surrounding the infrastructure and logistics of hosting and servicing a tournament

In addition to the exploitation of athletes or footballers, there is also the well-publicised issue of workers being exploited in the construction of large sports stadiums. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, there were numerous reports of exploitation and modern slavery within the construction, hospitality, cleaning, private security and waste disposal sectors in Qatar. Many migrant workers who travelled to Qatar from Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Kenya faced widespread labour abuses such as paying extortionate recruitment fees (often between $500 to $4,300) to secure their jobs, creating immediate and inescapable debt bondage; having their passports and paperwork confiscated and living and working in unbearable conditions. In fact, a 2021 investigation by The Guardian found that at least 6,500 migrant workers died during the construction of World Cup venues in Qatar — some were ruled as workplace accidents and others were ruled suicides.