China’s ambitions to host the World Cup "face potential human rights challenges," according to the author of a report commissioned by FIFA, according to Novy-Williams & Panja of BLOOMBERG. The report does not "single out any nation and its recommendations are non-binding on FIFA." In the report, Harvard professor John Ruggie, who previously worked with the U.N., said that "there would be some work to do on the part of China to comply with what I expect the bidding requirement will be." He said, "Are they willing to agree to certain conditions for the purpose of the tournament? It really is up to them." Chinese President Xi Jinping has made it a "national priority" to elevate the country’s football status and build sports into a $771B industry in the country by '25. China hosted the FIFA Women’s World Cup in '07 and the Summer Olympics in '08, which brought int'l focus and headlines about its "human rights record." Its next major event is the 2022 Winter Olympics. On the eve of the decision to award China hosting rights last year, "several dissidents published an open letter" claiming the country faced "a human rights crisis with a scale of violations that is unprecedented since 2008." Human Rights Watch in a '15 report acknowledged some "positive steps in certain areas" under Xi’s leadership, but said that "China remains an authoritarian state, one that systematically curbs fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, association, assembly, and religion, when their exercise is perceived to threaten one-party rule" (BLOOMBERG, 4/14).
