Debatable World Cup award
DFB declares support for Saudi Arabia
Updated on December 6th, 2024 – 6:55 p.mReading time: 1 min.
DFB boss Bernd Neuendorf announced on Friday who they would vote for in the upcoming World Cup awards – and why. Not everyone will like the decision.
The German Football Association (DFB) has decided to agree to the awarding of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia. Association President Bernd Neuendorf announced this on Wednesday in Frankfurt. The decision was therefore made unanimously in the Presidium.
“We didn’t make the decision lightly and carefully examined the application for the 2034 World Cup,” explained Neuendorf. “We take the criticism of the applicant country seriously and will continue to communicate. Our goal is to work together with FIFA to improve the situation in the coming years.”
The awarding of the World Cup to Saudi Arabia is controversial due to human rights violations in the country. “We are all aware of the civil rights situation and also the reprisals in Saudi Arabia. This is not something we approve of in any way,” Neuendorf continued.
A rejection or even a boycott would not have achieved what we wanted to achieve, as the DFB official further explained. “I think we can only exert influence if we say: Yes, we agree, but we know there are deficits.”
The awarding of the 2034 World Cup will be decided next Wednesday as part of a digital FIFA Congress together with the 2030 World Cup. The latter takes place in Spain, Portugal and Morocco after opening games in South America. This double award was made possible by a change in the statutes of the world association.