FIFA is requiring Toronto’s government, as a World Cup host city, to adopt a “non-interference” policy toward human rights advocates – a group that apparently includes protesters – the has learned.

A 27-page list of “sustainability and human rights tournament requirements,” released to the after a freedom-of-information request, is dated June 2023. The document says “protection of human rights defenders,” as well as freedom of the press, “is essential to a successful and rights-respecting delivery of the competition.”

The requirements apply to all 16 North American host cities for the 2026 soccer tournament. Toronto will host six games, with the first set for June 12, 2026.

In a written statement, Sharon Bollenbach, executive director of City Hall’s World Cup secretariat, said the “obli

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