The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia: Sponsorship and human rights
This briefing paper outlines what steps [...] the corporate sponsors of the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) have taken to act on their responsibility to respect human rights. However, conclusions and recommendations can be applied also to international sponsors of sports organizations...
The main sponsor is the state-owned gambling company Svenska Spel. Adidas is the official sports-equipment supplier, and the other corporate partners are Coca-Cola, Folksam, Ica, Intersport, Scandic, Sportbladet, Swedbank,Volvo Car Sweden, Carlsberg, Fabege and SJ. Exclusive suppliers and other partners are not included in the study.*
While an in-depth analysis of how each of the surveyed companies is managing the human rights risks connected to their sport sponsorships is beyond the scope of this briefing paper, many lessons can be learned from analysing the information provided by the companies...
[A]ll seven companies that agreed to participate in the study [...] have implemented policies and/or codes of conduct for human rights, including in relation to their sport sponsorships...
[E]ven the most ambitious and comprehensive risk analysis and mapping must lead to action. If a company identifies adverse impacts on human rights, it should be able to show that it has raised these issues with its business partner in order to prevent or mitigate these impacts...
[T]he sponsors should [...] act on the findings by putting pressure on SvFF to prevent and mitigate these impacts, ideally by collaborating with other sponsors.
*Note: Only those that responded are included in the report.