Saudi Arabia confirmed as World Cup 2034 hosts: Why FIFA’s awarding of tournament is hugely controversial

One of the worst-kept secrets in international football became fact on December 11, when Saudi Arabia was confirmed as the host nation of the 2034 FIFA men’s World Cup.

The country was ratified at an extraordinary FIFA Congress — held as an online event only — two weeks after world football’s governing body declared it one of the most standout World Cup bids in history via its evaluation process.

It has long been expected that Saudi Arabia would be awarded the tournament. Rival bids have never really emerged to a serious degree, and when Australia decided not to put forward their own candidacy last October, Saudi Arabia was given a clear run.

However, such a seemingly straightforward decision has the potential to be one of the most controversial in modern FIFA history. Given the governing body’s record when it comes to awarding World Cup hosting rights, that’s saying something.

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Is the 2034 FIFA World Cup definitely in Saudi Arabia?

Since FIFA’s evaluation of Saudi Arabia’s proposal achieved a record 4.2 out of five — the governing body called it “a unique, innovative and ambitious vision” — coupled with the fact that there was no opposing bid, it was a formality that the kingdom would be selected.

The announcement of the 2030 and 2034 World Cup hosts — we already know about 2030, too — took place at 3:45 p.m. CET. FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who is long said to have supported the idea of a World Cup in Saudi Arabia, gave a speech congratulating the host nations.

Why is Saudi Arabia a controversial choice as World Cup host?

Saudi Arabia’s aggressive expansion across major sporting properties, from the influx of global stars to the Saudi Pro League to its Formula One Grand Prix, LIV Golf, women’s tennis and combat sports extravaganzas such as Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, means a successful World Cup bid has long seemed inevitable.

However, there is likely to be a similar strain of sustained opposition to the one that accompanied the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Human rights concerns and ‘sportswashing’

Like its fellow Gulf state, Saudi Arabia has been criticised on the grounds of human rights violations, women’s rights abuses, the criminalisation of homosexuality, the restriction of free speech and conditions endured by migrant workers. Hosting a World Cup, and using the likes of Al Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo to promote it, has been labelled by many as another example of sportswashing — using sports as a vehicle to promote a country’s international status while obfuscating its more worrying practices.

The concern, as with the Qatar tournament, is that FIFA has ignored some of the alarms raised by the likes of Amnesty International. In its evaluation of the Saudi bid, FIFA said there was only a “medium” human rights risk in staging the tournament there, insisting the event had “good potential to act as a catalyst” for reforms. It also praised the Saudi “commitment to sustainability” and made it clear that staging the finals in the country’s winter months to avoid high temperatures, just as Qatar did, would not be a problem.

The @Saudi2034bid is inspiring so many young footballers with the promise of #GrowingTogether and it was a pleasure to meet some of those kids who are dreaming of welcoming the world to Saudi Arabia in 2034. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/UiAdh89Wlg

— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) December 5, 2024

Amnesty International’s Head of Economic and Social Justice, Steve Cockburn, decried the evaluation as an “astonishing whitewash of the country’s atrocious human rights record”.

“There are no meaningful commitments that will prevent workers from being exploited, residents from being evicted or activists from being arrested,” he said. “By ignoring the clear evidence of severe human-rights risks, FIFA is likely to bear much responsibility for the violations and abuses that will take place over the coming decade. Fundamental human-rights reforms are urgently required in Saudi Arabia, or the 2034 World Cup will be inevitably tarnished by exploitation, discrimination and repression.”

In FIFA’s “Overview of Hosting Requirements” for its 2034 World Cup that was published on October 4 last year, the phrase “human rights” appears 19 times, including in section 3.2.9, which details requirements in relation to the government declaration that all host nations must supply.

“As part of the Government Declaration, each of the involved governments is requested to express its commitment to respecting, protecting and upholding human rights, including workers’ labour rights, in connection with the hosting and staging of the competition and any legacy and related post-event activities, with particular attention to the provision of security, potential resettlement and eviction, workers’ labour rights (including those of migrant workers), the rights of children, gender equality, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and protecting all individuals from all forms of discrimination,” the document read.

“Each of the involved governments is requested to express its commitment to ensuring that access to effective remedies is available where such rights violations occur, including judicial and non-judicial complaint mechanisms with the power to investigate, punish and redress human rights violations.”

Warnings of risk to migrant workers

As with 2022, the idea of a Saudi World Cup has also caused concern for the welfare of migrant workers who will be used for much of the construction and logistics required to get ready for the tournament.

Saudi Arabia introduced labour reforms in 2021, but human rights groups have still reported problems for foreign workers in particular. Michael Page, deputy Middle East director for Human Rights Watch, said in a December 2024 report that migrant workers were “facing widespread rights violations in Saudi Arabia without any recourse” and warned that the 2034 World Cup threatened an “unimaginable human cost”.

According to The Athletic, FIFA insisted Saudi Arabia has committed to “equitable wages” and “decent working and living conditions” for World Cup workers. It also stressed that organisers would work with the International Labour Organisation to ensure compliance with working standards.

Opposition from women’s groups

Women typically have less autonomy over their lives in Saudi Arabia than in many of the countries that will take part in the 2034 World Cup. They live within a male guardianship system in which their everyday lives are conducted according to restrictions and decisions imposed on them by a guardian, which is usually a man from the same family.

While there have been some signs of progress — women were finally allowed to go to live football matches in 2018, and there is now a professional women’s football league and a well-supported national team — campaigners insist that the everyday reality for most women has changed little. Those who advocate for change are usually dealt with harshly: in May, 29-year-old Manahel al-Otaibi was jailed for 11 years for “terrorism offences” after calling for an end to the guardianship system on social media and going out without wearing traditional clothing.

Lack of rival World Cup bids

The very process FIFA used to select the Saudi bid in particular caused frustration for many as it became clear at an early stage that the ‘vote’ would be a mere formality by the time it came around.

Delegates at the FIFA Congress in December 2024 essentially had to support or oppose the selection of the host nations for 2030 and 2034 by acclamation. This led to the farcical scenario where all the online attendees had to clap to signal their support, rather than actually declare their intentions in person.

Norway’s football association abstained from the vote as it argued that the bidding process undermined FIFA’s own commitment to “good governance”. NFF President Lise Klaveness said: “The Congress is primarily about providing feedback on FIFA’s allocation process. The board’s assessment is that the process does not align with the principles of a sound and predictable governance system. By abstaining from acclamation, we are sending a deliberate signal that we cannot support FIFA’s approach.”

FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom acknowledged Norway’s complaint during Congress. Infantino insisted that FIFA had maintained appropriate transparency during the bidding process.

Another November-December tournament

While far from the biggest concern about a Saudi World Cup, the fact the tournament will likely need to be moved to November and December of 2034 to avoid the extreme heat of the summer is another complicating factor.

The 2022 finals in Qatar were held in the northern hemisphere’s late autumn and early winter for the same reason, which necessitated a lengthy pause to the domestic football calendar throughout Europe in particular. While other leagues around the world must deal with this sort of schedule clash more regularly — many in North and South America run over a calendar year, so World Cups have always been an issue in that regard — the disruption caused by the timing of the Qatar finals was significant given the number of global domestic competitions affected and the fact organisers weren’t used to it. An added complication is FIFA’s new 48-team model, meaning a longer tournament than the 32-entrant format that took place in Qatar.

While there is not yet any guarantee of a November-December tournament in 2034, it certainly seems likely given temperatures in the summer months regularly exceed 43 degrees Celsius (109F) in Saudi Arabia’s desert interior.

Could hosting the World Cup bring change in Saudi Arabia?

Many NGO and charitable groups have poured scorn on the idea that awarding Saudi Arabia the World Cup can bring about significant reform, but that is indeed at the heart of the country’s argument for why it wants to host the event.

Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s crown prince, spearheaded a policy called Vision 2030 back in 2016. The idea is to promote and strengthen Saudi Arabia’s political standing abroad, appease the changing attitudes of its younger generation, and improve its reputation when it comes to human rights — and all while encouraging greater private investment to ease the country’s dependency on its lucrative but volatile fossil-fuel industry.

Sport is a significant part of Vision 2030, as seen by the kingdom’s huge spending on lavish events — the F1 grand prix in Jeddah, the WTA Finals, major boxing fights — and its buying of stakes in sports like golf and tennis, and investment in the Saudi Pro League. The 2034 World Cup would be the pinnacle of Vision 30 in that regard.

Where is the 2030 FIFA World Cup being held?