54.6 percent: This is the proportion of the world’s population that does not live in a democracy, as the British magazine “The Economist” calculated in its democracy index. So a majority. Germany should therefore be honest: people in dictatorships and authoritarian states also have the right to experience major sporting events in their country – including in Saudi Arabia.
Of course, there are differences among authoritarian countries: Saudi Arabia is one of the worst, with its lashings, killing of journalists and lack of equal rights.
Nevertheless, the attention that the World Cup brings to a country could lead to Saudi Arabia moderating. The people in the country would also benefit from this – even if only for a short time.
Most of these countries also have tons of money. Anyone in democratic countries who complains about the high costs of major events should not complain when other, richer countries step in.
And you have to give the Gulf states one thing: they can organize major events. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are an integral part of sport, for example in tennis or Formula 1. The World Cup in Qatar in 2022 was also a success from an organizational perspective. Fans from Argentina, Brazil, Morocco and many other countries celebrated on site like at every other World Cup. This will be no different in Saudi Arabia.
Complaining that Saudi Arabia bought the World Cup to create a more positive image for itself is also disingenuous. What about clubs like RB Leipzig, VfL Wolfsburg or Bayer Leverkusen? All of these clubs would not exist without the companies behind them. Their football commitment also serves primarily advertising purposes. Nothing works in football without money anyway. One can regret that, but that’s the way it is.