With the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaching, attention is already turning toward the scale of what the United States will host over the coming months. Millions of visitors are expected to travel across host cities, while businesses, transport systems, hospitality providers, and event supply chains prepare for one of the largest sporting events in the world.
Events of this size generate enormous economic activity. They also generate enormous operational pressure. Cities suddenly need more workers, more accommodation, more transport, more cleaning staff, more security personnel, and faster delivery across almost every sector connected to the tournament. And when systems are pushed to move faster, oversight often struggles to keep pace.
That is where exploitation can thrive.
Labour exploitation in legitimate businesses
When people hear “human trafficking,” they often picture organised criminal networks operating in hidden spaces. In reality, some of the risks surrounding major sporting events can sit much closer to ordinary business activity. The worker recruited abroad for a construction project under false promises. The cleaner whose wages are withheld for months. The driver working excessive hours to repay recruitment debt. The hotel or logistics worker whose immigration status, accommodation, or documents are controlled by someone else.
What makes these situations difficult to identify is that they do not always look obviously criminal from the outside. Contracts exist. Businesses are registered. Payments move through formal systems. Yet underneath that surface, workers may have little freedom, little protection, and very few realistic options to leave.
Large international tournaments create exactly the kind of environment where these risks become harder to detect. Recruitment increases rapidly across borders. Layers of subcontractors emerge to meet demand. Temporary businesses appear almost overnight. Supply chains become larger and more fragmented. And as operational pressure increases, visibility often decreases.
The invisible hints of human trafficking
The warning signs can appear long before a criminal investigation does. Unusual recruitment patterns, newly formed subcontractors with limited transparency, unexplained cash activity, repeated cross-border transfers, or workers showing signs of exhaustion, fear, restricted movement, or dependency can all indicate deeper underlying risks.
Labour exploitation as a financial crime and compliance risk
This is why trafficking risks around global events cannot be viewed purely as isolated criminal acts. They often sit at the intersection of
- labour governance,
- supply chain vulnerabilities,
- fraud,
- financial crime, and
- broader compliance exposure.
Addressing them requires more than reactive enforcement after harm has already occurred. It requires stronger due diligence, ethical recruitment practices, cross-sector collaboration, and earlier visibility into how labour, money, and operational pressure move through the systems surrounding events of this scale.
Written by
Riwa Haidar | Senior Analyst