The collaborative report said a lack of clear standards across borders creates confusion for big events like the World Cup and Olympics
With the draw for the 2026 Fifa World Cup set to take place on Friday, a report examining the participation of athletes convicted of sexual offences at major sporting events has highlighted significant distrust of international sports governing bodies in how they deal with these situations.
The report, titled No One Wants to Talk About It, is the result of interviews with elite athletes directly affected by sexual abuse and is intended to gauge attitudes around the eligibility and accreditation criteria for athletes with prior criminal sexual convictions and their participation at mega sporting events.
The athletes highlighted “institutional inaction, silence, or complicity” in a lack of regulation by Fifa and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), among other organizations.
The report is a collaboration between the Sports and Rights Alliance and Thomas More University in Belgium. The Sports and Rights Alliance is a coalition that includes Amnesty International, Football Supporters Europe, Human Rights Watch, and World Players Union as well as other trade unions and human rights groups.
