Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
SHANGHAI — FIFA, the international body governing global soccer, has come under heavy criticism in recent years for awarding two World Cups in a row to authoritarian countries, Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.
The soccer group responded by requiring human rights reviews before awarding any more venues in the bidding for its events. It conducted such reviews of Morocco and North America before awarding the 2026 World Cup last year to the United States, Canada and Mexico, and faulted the United States and Canada then for a lack of specific commitments to human rights.