FIFA and Human Rights: From Harsh Tackles to Fair Play?

Football makes the world go round. Accordingly, the international governing body of federation football, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is a powerful actor on the international plane, and it is not always playing fair: Its market force persuades states to reform their budgets, administrative provisions, public policing and even their criminal jurisdiction systems, potentially endangering the rights of the individual. But can FIFA be held accountable, as non-state actors all too often seem to be out of reach of international human rights law? In this book, examples of adverse human rights impacts of FIFA’s operations are examined in the context of the international human rights order. Will public international law be able to tame the football giant? Or are there alternative, more promising routes that should be taken to prevent harsh human rights fouls in the future?