How Saudi Arabia secured the 2034 World Cup

The official announcement will not be made until 2024, but there is little doubt that the 2034 World Cup will be awarded to Saudi Arabia – a goal that Saudi Arabia achieved with many measures.

How is the award process going?

The World Cup will formally be awarded at the end of 2024. The FIFA Congress, the assembly of all 211 FIFA member associations, then votes on where the World Cup will take place. A simple majority is enough. Since no one else has announced an application by the October 31 deadline, Saudi Arabia is the only applicant – the tournament will almost certainly take place there.

Why isn’t another country applying?

Officially, Congress elects the World Cup hosts, but in fact the 2030 and 2034 tournaments were awarded in real deals in the FIFA Council. Spain, Portugal and Morocco from Europe and Africa as well as the South American countries Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile each applied jointly for the 2030 World Cup. South America obviously had no chance given the voting conditions, but 100 years after the first World Cup in Uruguay in 1930, at least three games are scheduled to take place there: one in Paraguay, one in Argentina and one in Uruguay.

The result: By awarding the 2030 World Cup, FIFA has cleared the way for Saudi Arabia. Because neither South America, Europe nor Africa can apply for 2034. The CONCACAF confederation for North America, Central America and the Caribbean is also excluded from hosting the World Cup in 2034 because of the 2026 World Cup. So only Asia and Oceania remain. In any case, no competition was expected from the island states of Oceania for a tournament with 48 teams and 104 games. Australia, as a member of the Asian Confederation, searched in vain for comrades-in-arms for a joint application and announced on Tuesday (October 31, 2023): “After considering all the facts, we have come to the conclusion not to apply for the 2034 World Cup.”

Is Saudi Arabia sure of a majority in Congress?

There is little doubt about that. Saudi Arabia’s association is already proudly announcing that more than 100 countries have announced their support for Saudi Arabia. This applies to countries like Guatemala or Mali, but also to Indonesia, which was still in discussion about a joint candidacy with Australia.

Saudi Arabia has traveled with representatives to numerous countries in recent months to sign agreements in principle. Often it was officially about football cooperation with other associations, but the result was also support for Saudi Arabia’s application.

What role does Asia’s association play?

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is considered to be controlled by the Gulf states. The president is Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa from Bahrain. Since February 2023, Saudi Arabia’s association president Yasser Al-Misehal has been sitting on the FIFA Council as the AFC representative.

After the FIFA Council cleared the way for the 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia by awarding the 2030 World Cup, it took just over an hour for both Saudi Arabia’s bid and the AFC’s support of the bid to be received . “The entire Asian football family will stand united in supporting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s momentous initiative”, the association said. At that time, a possible application from AFC member Australia was still on the cards.

Can a World Cup take place in Saudi Arabia on the usual dates in June and July?

The temperatures in Saudi Arabia are sometimes comparable to those in Qatar. If the stadiums cannot be cooled accordingly, it would be conceivable to switch to another date in the year. In Qatar, professional football has proven that it can be flexible.

What is FIFA’s relationship with Saudi Arabia?

FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Saudi Arabia have been expanding their relationship for years. When Infantino wanted to introduce a global Nations League and an expansion of the Club World Cup was discussed for the first time, Saudi Arabia was seen as a possible investor in the background in the marketing of the new competitions. Infantino recently maintained a close bond with Saudi Arabia’s ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and visited him in Riyadh several times.

When FIFA temporarily considered a two-year cycle for the men’s and women’s World Cups, Infantino needed a request from a member association in Congress to carry out a feasibility study – the request came from Saudi Arabia. The project later failed, mainly due to opposition from Europe and South America.

Why does Saudi Arabia want the tournament?

For Saudi Arabia, the World Cup is not about money, but about influence. Saudi Arabia has discovered the strategy of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates when it comes to sportswashing. Football has become a key instrument in this regard. The country is not only using FIFA to polish its external image as progressive and modern.

Saudi Arabia is also attacking European club football and bought Newcastle United in England through its sovereign wealth fund. The team is now playing in the Champions League. The Spanish Super Cup also takes place in Saudi Arabia, and the country will host the Asian Championship in 2027. Companies from Saudi Arabia are sponsors of Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and AS Roma. Saudi Arabia is also active in other sports: In the USA, the country has virtually taken over golf, there are Formula 1 races in Jeddah, and applications for world championships in handball and athletics are at least under discussion. Saudi Arabia is also investing a lot in e-sports.

What role do human rights play?

FIFA demands that human rights be respected at the World Cup, but this refers to the organization and preparation of the tournament. The human rights situation in Saudi Arabia itself is catastrophic. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman rules in an absolute monarchy. In Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom ranking, Saudi Arabia ranks 170th out of 180, behind Azerbaijan or Russia and very far behind Qatar.

There is no freedom of expression or assembly. According to human rights organizations, unfair trials lead to death sentences – even against people who were minors when the alleged crime was committed. Women have severely limited rights and homosexual acts are punishable. The anti-government Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by a hit squad in Istanbul in 2018 and sawn into pieces with a bone saw. A United Nations investigation and U.S. intelligence reports point to an order by Crown Prince bin Salman.

“The possibility that FIFA would award Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup, despite the country’s appalling human rights record and reluctance to control, exposes FIFA’s human rights commitments as a window dressing.”said the director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch.

What does the DFB say about this?

The German Football Association has not yet commented publicly on Saudi Arabia’s announced application. European football is now facing a discussion like at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – how do you position yourself? At the World Cup in Qatar there was often talk of it being too late for a boycott and that the issues should have been addressed “back then”. For Saudi Arabia, that “then” is 2023.

“FIFA has included a human rights passage when it comes to future awards”said DFB President Bernd Neuendorf before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at an event in the German Football Museum in Dortmund and added: “It’s hard to imagine today that the World Cup would be awarded to Russia and Qatar so uncritically and without conditions – that has definitely changed. In this respect, sport has changed and politics has changed. That leads to such social debates that you have to take a position on this.”