The country has big plans for the tournament – It has committed to major infrastructure projects, in addition to the construction and renovation of 11 stadiums and 185,000 new rooms
Sole candidate and sole winner, Saudi Arabia which undertakes the organization of the 2034 World Cup.
FIFA today announces the hosts for the next two men’s World Cups. However, the result will not be surprising.
This is because there is only one bid for the 2030 and 2034 tournaments. Spain, Portugal and Morocco are set to jointly host the World Cup in six years’ time, while Saudi Arabia is the sole bid for the 2034 edition. .
Michael Page, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), recently warned of an “unimaginable human cost” of hosting arguably the world’s biggest sporting event in Saudi Arabia.
Human rights groups are warning of issues of abuse of migrant workers, free speech and the rights of minority groups – in the Gulf nation.
But what does FIFA say? Why is Saudi Arabia so determined to host the event? And what, if anything, can be done to make the tournament as safe as possible?
Saudi investment
Saudi Arabia’s bid for the World Cup is not a simple one-off, but part of a wider push to invest in sports.
Through its sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia has invested billions to change the landscape of sports including golf, boxing, esports and Formula 1 in recent years.
The nation claims the investment is part of Saudi Vision 2030, a project led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify the economy and position Saudi Arabia as one of the world’s leading countries.
His focus on football, the most popular sport in the world, was remarkable.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia bought a historic football club – English Premier League club Newcastle United – and persuaded many legends to join the Saudi Pro League – most notably Ronaldo, Benzema, Neymar.
Hosting a World Cup, then, is the cherry on top – the piece de resistance of the Kingdom’s foray into the sport.
As expected, the country has big plans for the tournament. It has committed to major infrastructure projects, in addition to building or renovating 11 stadiums and 185,000 new hotel rooms.
But a Saudi Arabia World Cup in 2034 will come at a cost, according to human rights groups.
Human rights concerns
A recent report by HRW, titled “Die First, and I’ll Pay You Later,” argues that Saudi Arabia is using the tournament to “wash away its bad human rights reputation.”
The report focuses mainly on the treatment of migrant workers, who according to HRW will bear the brunt of building Saudi Arabia’s World Cup dream.
Many migrant workers still exist in the ‘Kafala’ sponsorship system, which links people to a specific employer. HRW said in a June statement that workers are “vulnerable to widespread abuses, including contract substitution, excessive recruitment fees, non-payment of wages, confiscation of passports by employers and forced labour”.
Despite a series of reforms announced by Saudi Arabia in recent years, employers “still have disproportionate control over workers,” HRW said.
There are also concerns about press freedom, the treatment of LGTBQ+ groups and women’s rights, among others.
In its report, FIFA added that “there is good potential for hosting the competition to contribute to positive human rights impacts in the context of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.”
It also noted that “the significant work and level of concrete commitment demonstrated by the tender and key stakeholders, together with the demonstrated rate of progress and the 10-year time horizon are mitigating factors to consider.”
Saudi Arabia went it alone for 2034, with FIFA backing its bid from the outset, despite backlash from the football world.
Invoking the principle of continental rotation, FIFA had limited its call for applications for the 2034 event to the confederations of Asia and Oceania, which took place immediately in autumn 2023.
And Saudi Arabia, the emerging superpower of world sport, found itself the only contender after Australia and Indonesia pulled out and China’s football ambitions “withdrew”.
The Gulf kingdom, which embarked on a diversification strategy, currently has only two of the 14 stadiums with a capacity of at least 40,000 spectators required to host the 48 teams.
Source :Skai
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