As the only candidate to host the 2034 men’s FIFA World Cup, Saudi Arabia will become the second Middle East nation to stage the tournament after Qatar in 2022.
Asia would ordinarily have had to wait until 2042 to host another World Cup under the terms of confederation rotation, however, with the 2030 World Cup being hosted across South America, Europe, and Africa, only Asia and Oceania were left.
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Saudi Arabia was quick to place its bid, and Australia thought about it but decided not to bid quite quickly. By process of elimination, this left a one-horse race.
Saudi Arabia hosting a World Cup is hugely controversial, but to not have an open and transparent process where there are other bids, whether there had been media scrutiny, or whether there was an open vote, then at least people could conclude that Saudi Arabia had won fair and square.
The Kingdom and FIFA, under President Gianni Infantino, have developed a close relationship. For example, the country hosted FIFA’s 2023 Club World Cup, and the governing body has a lucrative sponsorship deal with Saudi state-owned oil giant Aramco.
When this sponsorship deal was announced earlier this year, given the prospect of the country hosting the 2034 World Cup, further questions were raised about FIFA’s climate impact.
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By GlobalDataIt has already been reported that FIFA made false claims about the reduced environmental impact of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Taking the above into consideration, it is no surprise that Saudi Arabia not only won the bid but that FIFA has backed it.
Most scrutiny about the decision has come from outside of the sport. In March of this year, the Guardian said it had found evidence of high numbers of explained deaths of Bangladeshi migrant workers in Saudi Arabia.
The country defended its regulations and standards, however, FIFA came under pressure to secure bidding commitments for reforms before awarding the World Cup.
The issue of human rights is a major criticism of the notion that the country is eligible to host a World Cup, especially considering the controversy that FIFA has already faced when Qatar hosted two years ago. FIFA has continually throughout the process expressed its commitment to human rights, yet its actions would suggest otherwise.
Over recent years, Saudi Arabia has invested billions of US dollars into changing the landscape of sport. The nation claims that this large amount of investment is part of Saudi Vision 2030. This program is a sweeping strategic framework for diversifying the nation’s economic, social and cultural life.
The project is driven by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is aiming to situate Saudi Arabia as one of the world’s leading countries. Across the sporting landscape, Saudi Arabia has utilised its financial power and positioned itself amongst the leading nations in the market.
For example, the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) bought Newcastle United in 2021, and in June 2023 took ownership of four Saudi Pro League clubs. The PIF has also spent hundreds of millions of dollars recruiting soccer stars to play in Saudi Arabia, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Neymar.
Saudi Arabia’s investments in sports have led to accusations of “sportswashing”. This involves countries using high-profile sporting events to project a favourable image of their nation worldwide, often to shift attention away from alleged wrongdoings.
In Saudi Arabia’s case, this is likely referring to a combination of factors, including human rights, and treatment of women and migrant workers. Human rights campaigners have suggested that the Saudi government is using sport to detract from long-standing reputation issues.
The issue regarding the treatment of migrant workers overshadowed the World Cup in Qatar, however, Saudi Arabia has already said that this will not be an issue for the 2034 edition.
Fan safety is another major issue with same-sex relations being illegal in Saudi Arabia and being transgender is not recognized. From a fan perspective, there are obviously questions about whether LBTQ+ fans would be safe. Alcohol is also illegal and there is no suggestion that this will change before the World Cup.
Like Qatar in 2022, there have already been suggestions that 2034 will also be a winter World Cup. The exact dates of the tournament are yet to be confirmed, however, given the climate in Saudi Arabia, it is likely the tournament will take place between October and April.
Qatar was the first World Cup to be staged in the Northern Hemisphere winter, to avoid the summer temperatures. Therefore, considering both the climate and the Islamic month of Ramadan, the 2034 World Cup is likely to be held in the early months of 2034 or October.
This would again disrupt the English Premier League and other top European leagues. The expansion of European club competitions and the increase in size of the World Cup to a 48-team tournament would mean even more disruption to an already extremely busy calendar.
Despite the controversy surrounding the 2034 edition of the tournament, there is no doubt that it will be certainly one of its kind. The tournament is set to feature 11 stadiums that have not even been built yet and one in a new city that is yet to be built. Saudi Arabia has invested around $5 billion in sports since 2021, therefore hosting the World Cup will be a further huge investment for the Kingdom.
According to FIFA, the 2034 World Cup is set to be played in 15 stadiums across five cities – Riyadh, Jeddah, Abha, Al-Khobar and Neom. The latter is an unbuilt city in the northwest of the country, with plans for the Neom stadium showing it will be set 350 metres above ground level and only accessible via high-speed lifts and driverless vehicles.
Needless to mention, this will be a first for World Cup soccer. Eight of the tournament’s stadiums will be in the capital Riyadh, including the planned 92,760 King Salman International Stadium, which is set to host the opening game and the final.
Staging a World Cup that is being described as a “spectacle” and “one of a kind” is therefore set to take Saudi Arabia’s sporting revolution to an entirely new level, and it could even pave the way for an Olympic bid in the future.
There was hope that after the 2022 Qatar World Cup, there would be a change and improvement to workers’ rights, human rights, and climate change, which is no doubt important to mention. Qatar spent over $200 billion for the World Cup, including investing in technologies like air diffusers, however, there is only so much technology can do. Clearly, no lessons have been learned.
Considering the amount of investment Saudi Arabia is planning to put into the tournament, there is no doubt that the nation is planning on hosting further competitions. Given their financial power, how is anybody else supposed to compete?
