Kenya’s new labour agreement with Saudi Arabia, signed amid persistent abuse of Kenyan migrant workers, raises serious questions about labour-rights, transparency and accountability in a country set to host the FIFA World Cup 2034. The deal highlights systemic risks for migrant workers whose labour will underpin Saudi Arabia’s mega‑event ambitions.
Kenya’s bilateral labour deal with Saudi Arabia, concluded in Riyadh in July 2026, is being framed by both governments as a step towards safer, more orderly migration – yet the need for such an agreement, driven by documented violence, unpaid wages, passport confiscation and deaths of Kenyan workers, underscores unresolved structural problems in Saudi labour governance that are directly relevant to its role as 2034 World Cup host.
New labour agreement signed amid abuse concerns
According to Standard Group’s report
“Kenya, Saudi Arabia sign new labour deal amid persistent abuse concerns”
published by The Standard, Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi signed a new Labour Recruitment and Employment Agreement with Saudi officials in Riyadh on 7 July 2026. The article, attributed to Standard Group’s national news desk, states that the pact aims to strengthen ethical recruitment, protect workers, improve recognition of skills, and enhance the welfare and working conditions of Kenyan migrant workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.standardmedia.co+1
As The Standard notes, the labour agreement was concluded alongside three additional memoranda of understanding covering investment promotion, customs cooperation and collaboration between the Saudi Exim Bank and Kenya Development Corporation to finance strategic projects. Musalia Mudavadi is quoted emphasising “safe, orderly, regular and dignified migration arrangements” for Kenyan workers abroad, positioning the deal as part of Nairobi’s wider economic diplomacy strategy with Riyadh.
Persistent patterns of migrant worker abuse
Despite this positive framing, The Standard’s coverage recalls years of complaints and media reports about Kenyan domestic workers in Saudi Arabia facing serious abuses, including physical violence, unpaid wages, confiscation of passports, excessive working hours, sexual harassment and severe restrictions on movement. Amnesty International’s 2025 briefing
“Saudi Arabia: Migrant domestic workers face severe exploitation, racism and exclusion”
reports that Kenyan women employed as domestic workers endure gruelling and abusive conditions that often amount to forced labour, including confinement, denial of rest days, non‑payment of wages and racist treatment.
The Standard Group story draws attention to official Kenyan data indicating that 316 Kenyan migrants have died in Gulf countries since 2022, with 166 deaths recorded in Saudi Arabia alone – more than half of the total. Amnesty International’s earlier reporting on Kenyan domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, as covered by The Standard and other Kenyan outlets, describes cases of women returning home with severe injuries, trauma and allegations of sexual assault, as well as concerns about unexplained deaths in Saudi facilities.airtime.standardmedia.
Scale of Kenyan migration and economic stakes
The Standard article further notes that approximately 350,000 Kenyans currently live and work in Saudi Arabia, making the Kingdom Kenya’s largest diaspora destination outside the United States. Saudi Arabia is also identified as Kenya’s third‑largest source of remittances, underscoring the economic importance of this labour corridor for Kenyan households and the state.standardmedia.
Mudavadi’s remarks in the same report stress that Kenya wants to transform “strong historical ties” with Saudi Arabia into “tangible economic opportunities” through investment in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, renewable energy, technology, infrastructure, healthcare, tourism and Special Economic Zones. This context highlights a key tension: economic dependence on remittances and Gulf investment against a background of unresolved rights abuses affecting Kenyan workers.
Labour rights and kafala‑style control in Saudi Arabia
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and regional groups such as ALQST have repeatedly documented structural labour‑rights problems in Saudi Arabia, including kafala‑style sponsorship systems that bind migrant workers to their employers and restrict their ability to change jobs or leave the country. These organisations have reported that passport confiscation, non‑payment of wages, excessive working hours without adequate rest, and lack of effective complaint mechanisms remain widespread despite recent Saudi reforms.
In its 2025 analysis
“Saudi Arabia: 2034 World Cup Risks Widespread Labor Abuse,”
Human Rights Watch warns that Saudi Arabia’s labour framework still exposes migrant workers to “serious risks of exploitation and death on a massive scale,” noting that planned construction and infrastructure projects for the FIFA 2034 World Cup will likely rely on the same vulnerable migrant workforce. The new Kenya–Saudi labour agreement, while promising safeguards, sits within this broader environment, raising questions about how far bilateral arrangements can mitigate systemic issues that international NGOs say are embedded in Saudi labour governance.
FIFA’s human‑rights and labour‑rights standards
Since adopting its Human Rights Policy in 2017, FIFA has publicly committed to respecting internationally recognised human rights in all its activities, including bidding, hosting and staging the World Cup. The policy, referenced in Human Rights Watch’s 2024 briefing
“Saudi Arabia: Flawed Assessment of World Cup Bid,”
requires the football body to conduct diligent human‑rights risk assessments, consult affected stakeholders, and use its leverage to prevent or mitigate abuses.
Human Rights Watch and a coalition of organisations argue that FIFA’s human‑rights context analysis for Saudi Arabia’s 2034 bid failed to adequately address the country’s labour‑rights situation, including the absence of independent trade unions, constraints on freedom of expression, risks of forced evictions, and persistent migrant worker exploitation. Amnesty International’s 2024 statement
“Global: Saudi Arabia bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup whitewashes human rights record”
similarly concludes that the bid’s official “human rights plan” does not meet FIFA’s own requirements and largely ignores systemic labour‑rights concerns.
Kenya’s deal as evidence of unresolved risks
Viewed through this lens, the Standard Group report on Kenya’s new labour agreement can be read as further evidence that Saudi Arabia’s domestic labour environment remains hazardous for migrant workers, despite reforms and bilateral agreements. If Saudi law and practice already offered robust protections in line with FIFA’s standards, Kenya would not need a special protection deal negotiated under pressure of reported abuse and migrant deaths.
The fact that Kenya, a major labour‑exporting country, has felt compelled to seek enhanced safeguards – including ethical recruitment guarantees and commitments to improved working conditions – suggests that the baseline protections available to migrant workers in Saudi Arabia are still insufficient. This has direct implications for the tens of thousands of additional workers who may be recruited to build and service venues such as NEOM, Jeddah Central and other World Cup‑related sites.
Transparency and accountability concerns for Saudi 2034
Transparency and accountability are central elements of global sports‑governance standards, particularly where mega‑events intersect with human‑rights risks. Human Rights Watch’s joint statement with other organisations in December 2024,
“Award of 2034 Men’s World Cup to Saudi Arabia Risks Lives and Exposes FIFA’s Human Rights Commitments,”
argues that awarding the tournament to Saudi Arabia without “meaningful human‑rights protections” is inconsistent with FIFA’s own policy and exposes migrant workers to foreseeable harm.
Legal experts, including a former FIFA adviser, have filed formal complaints alleging that FIFA is breaching its human‑rights rules by failing to ensure that Saudi Arabia addresses its human‑rights failings before hosting the World Cup. Against this backdrop, the Kenya–Saudi labour agreement may be seen by civil society actors as a reactive measure to manage reputational risk rather than a transparent, systemic overhaul of labour governance. The continued reports of abuse and the need for bilateral protections suggest that mechanisms for monitoring recruitment agencies, enforcing wage protection, and providing remedies to abused workers remain inadequate in practice.
Sportswashing and mega‑event hosting debates
The Standard Group’s emphasis on investment, trade and economic diplomacy in the context of Kenya’s visit dovetails with a broader pattern of Saudi Arabia using mega‑events, including Formula One races, high‑profile boxing bouts and now the FIFA 2034 World Cup, to project an image of modernisation and openness. Human‑rights organisations have repeatedly warned that this strategy risks “sportswashing” – leveraging global sport to distract from domestic rights concerns, including labour exploitation and restrictions on press freedom and dissent.
Kenya’s new agreement, focusing on protections for its own citizens, will likely be welcomed by many Kenyan families reliant on remittances. However, international stakeholders may question whether such bilateral deals, negotiated under economic and diplomatic pressure, can provide meaningful systemic change or whether they serve primarily to reassure labour‑sending governments while leaving Saudi Arabia’s underlying labour governance unchanged.standardmedia.
Implications for international stakeholders and fans
For international stakeholders – including FIFA, national football associations, sponsors, supporters’ groups and human‑rights organisations – the Kenya–Saudi labour pact is a reminder that labour‑rights risks associated with Gulf mega‑events are not confined to one country. Lessons from Qatar 2022, documented in reports such as Human Rights Watch’s “Q&A: Migrant Worker Abuses in Qatar and FIFA World Cup 2022” and the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre’s
“Qatar World Cup 2022 marred by migrant worker abuse,”
show how migrant workers can face deadly conditions when stadiums and infrastructure are built under inadequate labour protection systems.
The patterns now documented in Saudi Arabia – and implicitly acknowledged through Kenya’s new agreement – raise legitimate concerns that similar or worse abuses could occur during preparations for the 2034 tournament unless robust safeguards are implemented. Fans and civil society groups may reasonably question whether attending or supporting a World Cup hosted in such a context aligns with the values FIFA has pledged to uphold.
By bringing together detailed reporting from The Standard on Kenya’s labour deal and extensive documentation from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other organisations, this news story highlights a critical sports‑governance issue: Saudi Arabia’s current labour‑rights environment, and the need for special bilateral protections for Kenyan workers, appear inconsistent with the spirit – and arguably the letter – of FIFA’s human‑rights and labour‑rights standards.
Kenya’s agreement with Saudi Arabia may improve conditions for some workers, but it simultaneously underscores unresolved systemic problems and the continuing vulnerability of migrant labour in the Kingdom. As Saudi Arabia prepares to host the FIFA World Cup 2034, the experiences of Kenyan workers – and Nairobi’s urgent drive for protection – will likely remain central to global debates about accountability, sportswashing and ethical hosting in international football.