Saudi Arabia confirmed as 2034 World Cup host despite human rights concerns

Saudi Arabia has been confirmed as the host for the 2034 men’s World Cup, after the solitary bidder for the Fifa tournament was waved through by acclamation.

The news confirms an outcome expected for more than a year since FIFA expedited its bidding process for the 2034 event. The decision has been widely condemned by human rights organisations, who cite arbitrary detentions, the abuse and deaths of migrant workers and suppression of the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people in the country. The English Football Association is understood to have supported the bid at the congress.

Saudi officials have promised that the World Cup will be part of a “journey of remarkable transformation” for the country. Its bid document argues that the country has “championed a human rights approach” through the bidding process and commits to “managing risk and maximizing positive social impact throughout the tournament”.

The country will embark on an enormous construction project with 11 new stadiums required to support a World Cup that will feature 48 sides. The tournament will be staged across five cities, with the capital, Riyadh, hosting eight stadiums. Owing to the stark summer temperatures in the region and the timing of Ramadan, the tournament is likely to take place in January and February.

Last year Fifa gave countries only a month to express interest in hosting and changed its rule on infrastructure to allow countries with fewer suitable stadiums to bid. Saudi Arabia was the only country to officially express an interest. The vote was conducted by acclamation, or a collective round of applause, at a virtual meeting of Fifa’s 211 member countries.

Rodney Dixon KC, who made a legal submission to FIFA in October with other human rights experts warning that it was “dealing with the devil” in planning to take the tournament to Saudi Arabia, said the governing body’s reputation was “in tatters and the game of football has been denigrated”.

Dixon, who has represented Hatice Cengiz, whose husband, Jamal Khashoggi, was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, said: “Fifa should insist on minimum human rights compliance by Saudi Arabia, at least, to release jailed political opponents, stop torture in its prisons, uphold women’s rights, permit free speech and association, guarantee workers’ rights, and establish an independent judiciary. If these conditions are not fulfilled, Fifa should in accordance with its own policy change the host country.”

The congress has also ratified the award of the 2030 World Cup to Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will stage a match each during the tournament in what Fifa said risked “a significant negative impact on the climate”.