Coalition calls Atlanta's World Cup Human Rights Action Plan "weak"
Atlanta's plan to protect human rights during the 2026 FIFA World Cup is facing criticism from a coalition of community organizations that say the city ignored their input while developing the framework.
Members of Play Fair ATL, a coalition of labor, housing, immigration, and criminal justice groups, say the city's newly released ATL26 Human Rights Action Plan lacks meaningful protections for residents and workers as Atlanta prepares to host the global soccer tournament.
"We repeatedly submitted detailed feedback and recommendations, and it was never meaningfully addressed," said Michael Collins, director of Play Fair ATL. "The human rights plan is incredibly weak and missing many of the accountability mechanisms needed for the World Cup."
The City of Atlanta announced the plan on Monday as part of preparations to host matches during the World Cup. City leaders say the framework is designed to ensure the event reflects Atlanta's values of inclusion, fairness and human dignity.
In a statement, Andre Dickens said the city views the plan as both a commitment and an opportunity to ensure the tournament benefits local communities.
"Atlanta is honored to welcome the world," Dickens said. "Hosting an event of this global scale brings both opportunity and responsibility."
City officials say the plan focuses on four key areas: inclusion and safeguarding, workers' rights, accountability and access to remedies for those who believe their rights were violated. The framework also includes initiatives such as career training programs, accessibility improvements, human trafficking prevention efforts, and a $17.50 hourly baseline wage for FIFA-related employment coordinated by the city.
Officials say the plan was developed through more than 75 hours of community engagement involving more than 25 organizations and will be tracked through quarterly public reports.
But Collins disputes that, saying his coalition, which represents about 30 community organizations, was not meaningfully included in the process.
"The process has been deeply dysfunctional," Collins said. "Groups were ignored and not properly consulted, even though FIFA requires host cities to work with community stakeholders when developing these plans."
Play Fair ATL formed to push for policies aimed at protecting residents as Atlanta prepares to host World Cup matches. The group's platform calls for stronger housing protections, worker rights safeguards, criminal justice reforms, and immigrant protections tied to the event.
Collins said advocates are particularly concerned about issues such as housing displacement, labor protections, and policing during the tournament.
He pointed to concerns that past mega-events, including the 1996 Summer Olympics, led to the displacement of unhoused residents and increased policing in Atlanta.
"We don't want the World Cup to repeat those mistakes," Collins said.
Collins also criticized what he described as a lack of enforcement mechanisms in the current plan.
"There are no accountability mechanisms for worker rights. There are no accountability mechanisms on issues such as housing. It's a completely vacuous document that doesn't actually do anything, and again, it represents a missed opportunity, because we put out this policy platform in December," Collins said. "We sent it to the city. We offered feedback. We offered, you know, countless opportunities to sit down with the city. We did sit down with the city and talk to them about these issues, but they've just come back with a plan that, you know, feels like we might as well not have engaged with them at all."
Despite the criticism, Collins said the coalition hopes to continue working with city leaders. He is scheduled to testify before the Atlanta City Council on Tuesday about the issue.
He said some council members have shown interest in advancing legislation aimed at protecting workers, renters and immigrants ahead of the tournament.
"We want to engage the city, and we want to be a partner, and we just haven't felt like that at all," Collins said. "This is not necessarily about us being ignored; it's about, you know, these community protections being in place. What's disappointing about Atlanta is that we know that other host cities like Dallas and Houston released their plans last week, and those plans include far more details, and there are things like worker protection mechanisms and responsible contracts. And you know, it's just embarrassing that Atlanta is lagging behind ... It just feels like that's something that we need to fix."
Atlanta is one of several U.S. cities selected to host matches during the 2026 World Cup, which will take place across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Officials estimate the event could bring hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity to the region.
Collins said advocates want to ensure the benefits reach residents, not just corporations or event organizers. They want Atlanta to be a model for how to host a global event the right way, which, to them, means making sure the people who live here actually benefit from it.