A leading human rights organization has described a sponsorship deal between Concacaf and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) as sportswashing, criticizing the host confederation for 2026 World Cup as complicit in covering up the murder of journalists as well as the repression of women and human rights activists.

Concacaf, the confederation that includes nations from North and Central America and the Caribbean, announced its partnership with the Saudi sovereign wealth fund in August claiming Saudi Arabia’s investment will “increase the number of youth tournaments and community programs it manages in its region”.

Concacaf’s president, Victor Montagliani, said at the time of the announcement that “we are very pleased to announce this new strategic partnership which will support the confederation in developing all levels of football across our region … Interest in [football] is growing rapidly in our confederation.”

The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by Concacaf members the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The deal between Concacaf and PIF, however, has drawn criticism from a leading non-governmental organization that claims Concacaf has ignored Fifa’s statutory human rights requirements in approving the deal.

“Concacaf is going to be hosting the largest ever 48-team World Cup,” said Minky Worden, director of global Initiatives for Human Rights Watch. “Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is credibly implicated in egregious human rights abuses and one of the world’s most loved sports events should not in any way be associated with horrific repression in Saudi Arabia.

“The sponsorship of Concacaf serves to sportswash and to cover up and launder these human rights abuses by Saudi Arabia that include repression of women, murder of journalists, and include the repression of human rights defenders. The investment in Concacaf serves to launder the abuses by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and that is not acceptable.”

Under Fifa’s Human Rights Policy, organizations commit “to identify, address, evaluate and communicate the risks of involvement with adverse human rights impacts”. In 2016 Fifa adopted the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights that calls for “additional steps to protect against human rights abuses by business enterprises that are owned or controlled by the State, or that receive substantial support and services from State agencies.”

Fifa, however, does not appear to follow its own guidelines on these issues and is even set to award hosting rights for the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia in the next few weeks.

“Fifa has taken a very cavalier approach to this and not honored the agreement with human rights groups to raise the bar for human rights,” said Worden. “[2026] was supposed to be the first World Cup that was covered by the human rights policy. The human rights strategy looks beautiful on paper but has not been honored in practice.”

In January, US senators Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, and Republican Ron Johnson wrote to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund with concerns about PIF’s business dealings in the United States – based mostly in real estate, technology, and sports – and its attempts to block subpoenas issued to four American businesses providing consulting services to the Saudis: Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company, M Klein & Company and Teneo.

The US Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigations is charged with investigating which foreign powers may be using commerce within the United States as a tool of foreign influence. At a 2023 public hearing into a proposed PGA Tour agreement with PIF, Blumenthal said: “Today’s hearing is about much more than the game of golf. It is about how a brutal, repressive regime can buy influence – indeed even take over – a cherished American institution simply to cleanse its public image.”

Concacaf’s deal with PIF comes after another agreement by the confederation with Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. In February this year Aramco was announced as the “Official Energy Partner” for all of Concacaf’s national team and club competitions.

The Saudi influence was strengthened in August when it was announced that Air Riyadh would be the “Official Airline Partner” of Concacaf in a multi-year deal. The airline is owned by PIF and will make its first scheduled flights in 2025 promising to fly 100 routes worldwide by 2030. The airline is a shirt sponsor of La Liga side Atlético Madrid.

PIF is the majority owner of Premier League club Newcastle United and also owns four Saudi Pro League teams, including Al Nassr whose star player is Cristiano Ronaldo. It has significant interests in golf and tennis and is a partner of the ATP and WTA.

Concacaf, which is headquartered in Miami, did not respond to a request for an interview with Montagliani and declined to respond to questions that included clarification on the dollar value of its agreement with PIF and whether Concacaf completed due diligence to ensure compliance with both Fifa’s Human Rights Policy and its own Code of Conduct.

In response to the invitation and requests from the Guardian, Concacaf said in a statement issued by a spokesperson:

“We believe in engaging positively with partners from across the world to support our mission of developing all levels of football to benefit our 41 member federations and their communities. In that context, we have entered into a sponsorship agreement with PIF and Riyadh Air that will see their brands receive global visibility through our tournaments.

“Additionally, our partnership includes working together to create and deliver a grassroots football program that will benefit young people in Central America and the Caribbean.

“The PIF and Riyadh Air have an established track record of sponsorships in a range of global sports, including high profile football clubs, international tennis organizations. and motor sport. Their sponsorship of Concacaf tournaments will support us in continuing to grow the game across our region.”

PIF did not respond to a request for an interview or comment.

“Businesses including sports bodies like Concacaf have a responsibility to respect human rights across all of their operations,” said Worden. “That is the expectation that Concacaf will adopt specific policies and do due diligence that will identify risks that will contribute to human rights harms.

“These harms include the reputational benefits that Concacaf is giving to PIF to cover up human rights abuses. According to Fifa’s statutory human rights requirements Concacaf is required to do and make public due diligence about its sponsors. PIF has a very black record in relation to human rights. That is very problematic.”