PROSPECT HEIGHTS — For James King, the connection between major sporting events and human trafficking goes back more than a decade, to when New Jersey was preparing to host Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium.  

“That was really my first experience of understanding the connection between the problem of human trafficking and major sporting events,” said King, executive director of the New Jersey Catholic Conference. 

As he recalled the wave of anti-trafficking legislation that moved through the state legislature ahead of the 2014 game, he said the major tourism that comes with major sporting events created opportunities for criminal activity among many restaurants, hotels, and other local businesses.  

“Especially through human trafficking,” he explained, “which obviously does include sex trafficking, which is probably a bigger issue during these major sporting events. 

“But you also see increased incidences of labor trafficking.” 

That concern shaped a June 9 webinar, “Human Trafficking and Major Sporting Events,” hosted by the New Jersey Catholic Conference alongside the USCCB and the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, ahead of the World Cup, which runs through the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium. 

Felicitas Brugo Onetti, anti-trafficking education and outreach coordinator for the USCCB, used the webinar to push back on a common assumption: That trafficking tied to sporting events is exclusive to sex trafficking.  

“When we think of human trafficking, we tend to just say sex trafficking, [but] it’s both labor and sex trafficking,” she said. “Particularly as it pertains to sporting events, we’ve seen both.” 

She acknowledged the research gap that has made the topic “controversial,” with some studies disputing any proven correlation between trafficking and sporting events. However, she disagrees. 

“It’s naive for us to think that an influx of tourism and an influx of traffic on the road would not create a demand,” she said. 

On labor trafficking, Onetti pointed to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where migrant workers recruited to build stadiums faced “hazardous working conditions, some resulting in deaths.”  

According to Human Rights Watch, a year after the 2022 Qatar World Cup, FIFA and Qatar had failed to compensate migrant workers who built the tournament’s stadiums, despite widespread abuses including unpaid wages, dangerous working conditions, and thousands of unexplained deaths. Labor reforms made under global scrutiny were largely ineffective due to their narrow scope and poor enforcement, leaving many workers stranded in Qatar without pay or the ability to return home. 

Regarding sex trafficking, she said celebration drives demand for purchased sex.  

“It’s [also] naive for us to believe that it doesn’t exacerbate services for cheap, as well as purchasing sex. That’s a form of sex trafficking,” she said. 

She cited DHS reports of increased identified trafficking victims around the most recent Super Bowl in New Orleans as evidence that the concern remains valid. 

Onetti was direct when asked how people can help: When in doubt, report it.  

“If you ever see a situation that looks weird, don’t hesitate to tell law enforcement … or anyone who would be volunteering for the FIFA World Cup,” she said. 

She also added that people should not approach individuals directly. 

“You have to keep the potential victim safe,” she said. 

King pointed to one resource already active in New Jersey, the SOAP (Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution) Project, founded by survivor Theresa Flores, which partners with hotels near major venues to place bars of soap printed with the National Human Trafficking Hotline inside the wrapper, reaching victims who may have little unsupervised contact with anyone but their trafficker.  

“They figured they’re going to use the bathroom at some point,” King said. “So, with that information on it, they could eventually call the hotline and ask for assistance.” 

For Onetti, the obligation traces back to Pope Francis, who described trafficking as “the open wound on the body of Christ,” a call to solidarity she said extends through Pope Leo XIV.