How to Win the World Cup – Part 2
With fans back in football stadiums, and the prospect of large attendances at events including the British Grand Prix and the Wimbledon tennis championships, it looks set to be an exciting summer of sport in the UK. And it may well be an exciting decade given the recent announcement of UK Sport (a government agency funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) to host 100 major sporting events over the next decade with a view to creating “extraordinary sporting moments”. These proposals will be welcomed by the industry following the challenges of the pandemic. They reflect the increased efforts of the UK Government to stake the UK's place on the sporting calendar. After throwing its hat into the ring as a back-up venue to the pandemic-affected UEFA Champions League Final and Men’s football European Championships this summer, the flagship proposal remains the mooted UK-Ireland joint bid to host the Men's football World Cup in 2030.
Part 1 of this blogpost explored the bidding process, selection criteria and wide range of commercial considerations that go into hosting a World Cup. This post shall consider some of the more specific legal issues for the UK government to tackle when hosting sporting events on the scale of a World Cup.
Tax – the FIFA Guarantees
As part of hosting a World Cup, FIFA customarily requires the successful bidder to agree to provide a number of government guarantees, including the provision of general and limited tax exemptions to (amongst others) FIFA, the FIFA World Cup entity and its subsidiaries, the FIFA Host Broadcaster, FIFA’s service providers and contractors, the players and any host nation football associations. The tax regime for non-resident athletes in the UK has been the source of much discussion. Notwithstanding the tax exemption in respect of players’ base compensation and prize money related to the World Cup, there is a possibility that the mere presence of non-resident players in the UK could create a (separate) UK tax liability. This will also need to be addressed by the UK's tax authority (HMRC).
As well as the general and limited tax exemptions, the host nation must also indemnify FIFA and its associated bodies against any tax that may inadvertently arise. In light of these requirements, specific legislation would need to be passed in the UK to accommodate both the tax exemption and a simplified administration procedure to prioritise administrative support to FIFA and the World Cup organising bodies from HMRC.
Free Movement on the Pitch, Free Movement off the pitch?
Visas and immigration
Events like the World Cup attract not only fans from all around the world but also companies and their workers. Under the guarantees required by FIFA of the host nation's government, the UK must guarantee to “generally establish a visa-free environment or to facilitate existing visa procedures for individuals involved in the competition and fans”. For the London 2012 Olympic Games, the UK Border Agency established specific visas for athletes, coaches, officials and rights holding broadcasters and sponsors. Nonetheless, the UK’s immigration system was criticised by some for being strained in the weeks running up to the Games. For any future World Cup the UK might consider a similar approach to that used for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, where delegates could bypass the normal visa process by providing their biometric information and an accreditation pass issued by the Organising Committee.
Issues around immigration continue to be politically sensitive in the UK, and the UK Government is making a series of reforms to the system post-Brexit. For any future World Cup, some exemptions from the UK’s normal immigration system are likely to be waived in accordance with past practice for largescale sporting events. This could include, for example, an exemption from the need to have a sponsoring employer, or for individuals to prove they have a certain level of funds to support themselves during their stay. In any case, FIFA is unlikely to require full visa exemptions, acknowledging that “ease of access to the host country must by no means adversely affect the national immigration and security standards.”
Work permits and labour law
The UK must also provide FIFA with the legal environment to source employees and other personnel from all over the world in connection with the preparation, organisation and hosting of the World Cup. In particular, the UK must “guarantee the issuance of work permits unconditionally and without any restriction or discrimination of any kind” and, where necessary, “grant accordant exemptions from labour law and other legislation”. Bidders can also expect increased scrutiny of the human rights content of their bids following concerns about labour rights abuses. Whilst these requirements might appear far-reaching, in practice the UK’s framework of employment laws and its relatively robust enforcement mechanisms is unlikely to require significant change to facilitate the organisation and hosting of a future World Cup.
‘Sustainaballity’ – the environmental, social and governance considerations of a World Cup
Beyond labour rights protections, the wider topic of human rights will be a key focus area for potential host nations. For example, FIFA expects member associations to make an explicit public commitment to respect all internationally recognised human rights in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and have a strategy in place to identify and address the risks of any adverse impacts on human rights related to their World Cup. This focus is increasingly seen across the sports sector, and indeed, the business world, with a minimum requirement that companies, and their suppliers, are compliant with human rights and modern slavery legislation.
But human rights is not the only player stepping off the bench to impact the game. FIFA’s criteria for the 2026 World Cup hosts also placed increased focus on sustainability. This included requiring any host(s) to have a strategy covering environmental impact (i.e. carbon emissions from transport, water use from tending to pitches, managing waste produced by event attendees), social issues like diversity and supply chain management and governance considerations such as safeguards against corruption.
A successful World Cup event involves magnificent stadiums, first-class facilities and transport and amenities for teams and thousands of fans (to name a few). Managing these topics requires serious consideration to avoid straying offside and receiving criticism and/or suffering reputational or financial damage. This scrutiny will likely go beyond host nations. In the past, investment in the sports sector might have positively impacted reputation. Today, renewed focus on sustainability can instead raise questions about “sportswashing”, meaning the spotlight will extend to companies involved in delivering and financing the pinnacle of the beautiful game.
Comment
With UK Sport's stated aim of hosting tournaments like the 2030 World Cup in order to "reach new audiences, uplift communities and help unite the nation", it will be important for event organisers to take heed of the myriad complex legal issues underlying the successful hosting of any large scale sporting event. Such issues affect not only governments and organising committees, but the wide range of stakeholders involved, from sports professionals to fans and commercial partners.
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