FIFA World Cup: 3 countries to host in 2030, Saudi Arabia in 2034 – National
Saudi Arabia has been officially confirmed by FIFA as the host of the 2034 men’s soccer World Cup, giving the oil-rich kingdom its biggest prize yet for the world’s biggest sports spender run by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Saudi bid was the only candidate and was applauded by more than 200 FIFA member organizations. They participated remotely in an online meeting held in Zurich on Wednesday by the president of the football association Gianni Infantino.
“The congressional vote is loud and clear,” said Infantino, who asked officials in the bank of screens to clap their hands to show their support.
This decision was combined with the sole authorization to host the 2030 World Cup. Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host the six-nation project, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will receive one of the 104 games.
The South American connection will mark the centenary of Uruguay hosting the first World Cup in 1930.
The decisions complete a highly ambiguous 15-month bid process that Infantino helped lead in Saudi Arabia without a rival, without question, and which human rights groups warn will put the lives of migrant workers at risk.
FIFA and Saudi officials said hosting the tournament in 2034 could accelerate reforms, including freedom and women’s rights.
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The fast track to success was opened last year with the adoption of a three-continent plan to host the 2030 World Cup. It meant that only football associations in Asia and Oceania were eligible for the 2034 tournament, and FIFA gave them less than four weeks to announce. Only Saudi Arabia did.
Saudi Arabia’s win will begin a decade of labor law review and management of workers mainly from South Asia needed to build and develop 15 stadiums, as well as hotels and a transport network ahead of the 104-match tournament.
One of the stadiums is planned to be 350 meters (yards) above the ground in Neom – a city of the future that does not yet exist – and another called the crown prince is being built on top of a 200 meter cliff near Riyadh.
During the bidding process, FIFA accepted a limited scrutiny of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record which was criticized this year at the United Nations.
Saudi and international rights groups and activists have warned FIFA that it has not learned the lesson of Qatar’s much-criticized preparations to host the 2022 World Cup.
FIFA made a “reckless decision” to sanction Saudi Arabia without public guarantees to protect human rights, an international group of rights groups said in a statement.
“At every stage of this bidding process, FIFA has demonstrated its commitment to human rights as a sham,” said Amnesty International’s head of labor and sports rights, Steve Cockburn.
The kingdom plans to spend tens of billions of dollars on World Cup-related projects as part of the crown prince’s sweeping Vision 2030 project that aims to modernize Saudi society and the economy. At its core is spending money on sports through the $900 billion sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, which he oversees. Critics have called it “unsportsmanlike conduct” for the state’s reputation.
The prince, known as MBS, has been building a close relationship with Infantino since 2017 – he is accompanying the organizer of the most watched event in the sport rather than directly confronting the established system as he did with the disruptive project of LIV Golf.
The result for Saudi Arabia and FIFA was smooth progress towards success on Wednesday with limited pushback from football officials, although some came from women’s internationals.
The steady flow of Saudi money into international football is expected to grow.
FIFA has created a new and higher tier of World Cup sponsors for the country’s oil company Aramco, and Saudi funding is expected to underwrite the 2025 World Cup in the United States which is Infantino’s pet project.
The North American soccer confederation, CONCACAF, has signed a multi-year agreement with the PIF, Saudi stadiums host the Italian and Spanish Super Cups, and nearly 50 FIFA member confederations have signed working agreements with their Saudi counterparts.
Spending by PIF-owned Saudi clubs over the past two years to buy and pay for players – including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mané – has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into European football.
That influence could be key in negotiations to agree which months to play the 2034 World Cup. The November-December slot taken by Qatar in 2022 to avoid the extreme heat of mid-summer is complicated in 2034 by the holy month of Ramadan in the middle of December and Riyadh hosts many Asian games.
However, January 2034 could be an option – and potentially better for European clubs and leagues – after the International Olympic Committee said it saw few problems in conflict with the opening of the Salt Lake Winter Games on February 10, 2034. The IOC also has a big business. facing Saudi Arabia, hosting the new Esports Olympics.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
