Page 6 - Soccer360 Issue 104

SAUDI ARABIA 2034? SIGH...
IN OCTOBER IT WAS ALL-BUT CONFIRMED THAT THE 2034 WORLD CUP WOULD BE GOING TO SAUDI ARABIA, AND GABY MCKAY WONDERS WHY NO-ONE SEEMS THAT BOTHERED.
The announcement hasn’t had anything like the backlash of Qatar
“FIFA’S OWN BIDDING RULES REQUIRE A COMMITMENT TO HUMAN RIGHTS”
Saudi Arabia are unopposed in the bidding process for the 2034 World Cup
There’s perhaps no more damning indictment of the way FIFA is run than the fact there was very little reaction to the news that the 2034 World Cup will almost certainly be held in Saudi Arabia. When Sepp Blatter announced in 2010
that Russia and then Qatar would host the 2018 and 2022 tournaments respectively there was outcry about the latter, with the controversy rumbling on for well over a decade up to and then during the tournament itself.
To recap, Qatar outlaws homosexuality, women’s rights are restricted, and while advocates say the situation has improved for workers an investigation found that 6,500 migrant workers had died in the country between it being awarded the tournament and February 2021 - though not all were linked to the stadium construction.
While there was big talk of demonstrations on
the pitch the criticism once a ball was kicked was muted, with teams backing off the decision to wear armbands in support of the LGBTQIA+ community after FIFA threatened punishment. Even the
power of global capitalism wasn’t enough to curb some of the less repressive laws in the country, with Budweiser renewing its sponsorship with
FIFA through the 2026 tournament despite Qatar withdrawing a longstanding promise to allow the sale of beer with alcohol in the stadiums.
Perhaps then it’s no surprise that Saudi Arabia being left as the only bidder for the 2034 tournament - Australia decided not to bid having missed out on 2022 - was largely greeted with resigned sighs. FIFA will officially announce the
decision at its congress in late 2024, but even Amnesty International limited itself to calling for football’s governing body to “secure clear and binding commitments to improve human rights”. A requirement of FIFA’s own bid guidelines for the 2030 and 2034 tournaments stated that nations hoping to host the tournament must commit to “respecting internationally recognised human rights” and “requires human rights and labour standards to be implemented by the bidding member associations, the government(s) and other entities involved in the organisation of
the Competitions”. While there has been some liberalisation in Saudi Arabia in recent years, in 2022 the state carried out 81 executions in one day while migrant workers are excluded from the country’s labour protections. As for freedom of the press and freedom of expression, it’s enough to remember the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, killed and butchered in a Saudi consulate in 2018.
That the reaction has largely been one of resignation is easy to understand. The protests against the 2022 World Cup achieved nothing, while FIFA has already pushed through unpopular moves like expanding the tournament and its new Club World Cup idea.
Another strain is the impact of sportswashing. Just as with Manchester City and others before them, we’ve seen Newcastle United fans not only ignore some of the worst aspects of their club’s ownership but actively defend it, including some sending abuse to Khashoggi’s grieving widow.
The boom of the Saudi Pro League is another step in that direction, with some of the game’s biggest
names swapping Europe for the Middle East.
One of them was Jordan Henderson, supposed advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights, for whom it appears a big pay packet is more important than the dignity of those he purports to support.
Henderson was pressed on his decision in an interview with The Athletic in September, where
he made a direct comparison between the 2022 World Cup and the situation in Saudi Arabia, the former Liverpool captain saying: “When I went to Qatar and we had the experience we had at the World Cup, you get to meet the workers there and it was totally different... when you go there and experience it for yourself it’s totally different.” Going there for a couple of weeks as a professional footballer is, of course, enough to get a flavour of the situation.
If the apathy is understandable, the situation should not be hopeless. Fans showed with their vehement opposition to the European Super League that
they can effect change when they show a united front, though you can bet that project will resurface in some more palatable form. Perhaps the most apposite analogy is that of the boiling frog. After all football fans have experienced - and been subject to - in recent years, awarding the sport’s flagship tournament to a regime with an appalling human rights record just doesn’t seem that out there. But, really? Saudi Arabia 2034? Are we just going to let this pass with a resigned shrug?
4 SOCCER360
FIRST WORD
Jordan Henderson has defended his move to Saudi Arabia.