Only Saudi Arabia is applying to host the 2034 World Cup. The country has been heavily criticized as a possible World Cup host, particularly in Germany. The discussion is complex.
It was a disdainful announcement from the other side of the world that practically finally cleared the way for Saudi Arabia. The Australian association announced on the deadline that it would not apply for the 2034 World Cup.
Shortly afterwards, FIFA also confirmed that only Saudi Arabia had submitted a declaration of interest and would therefore be the only candidate remaining in the award in a year’s time.
Infantino is in a hurry
Infantino obviously didn’t want to wait that long and sold the decision as perfect in an Instagram post that evening. The expected discussions, especially in Germany, about human rights, dependencies and the inseparability of sport and politics will be in vain.
The Swiss listed the upcoming venues and, in addition to the already announced hosts USA, Canada and Mexico for 2026 as well as Spain, Morocco, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay for 2030, also listed Saudi Arabia for 2034 and was happy about “three editions, five continents and ten countries” involved in the event of “the greatest show in the world”. “This makes football truly global,” Infantino wrote.
“After the investments that we are currently seeing in football and sport in general, a World Cup is the logical culmination and in a certain way also the continuation of what Qatar has done,” said the Islamic and political scientist Sebastian Sons of the German Press Agency.
The 42-year-old Berliner is, among other things, an expert on sports policy in the Arabian Gulf region. “It is a partner that we now need: in terms of energy policy, security policy, and also because of the situation in the region. And that has to at least be discussed in the context of a football World Cup,” said Sons about Saudi Arabia.
More controversial than Qatar
The kingdom is even more controversial than the host of the 2022 finals, its small neighbor Qatar. Wenzel Michalski said in an interview with the German Press Agency that he didn’t want to compare the two countries. The human rights situation in Saudi Arabia is even worse than in Qatar, emphasized the Germany director of Human Rights Watch. For him, one thing is certain: a World Cup in Saudi Arabia is not possible.
“Because FIFA has set itself a human rights agenda that says that World Cup hosts must respect human rights. And as we know, that is not the case at all with Saudi Arabia,” Michalski explained. To assign them there would be a betrayal of those who would believe FIFA can actually implement its human rights standards.
Formally, only the deadline for interested associations to submit initial documents ended on Tuesday. The final application, which will be examined by the world association, must follow before the award is made by a FIFA Congress at the end of 2024. The more than 200 member associations are then allowed to vote; each association has one vote, regardless of size. There may be resistance – including from the German Football Association – during the election. As a sporting power, Saudi Arabia has already gained a number of supporters behind it. Also Infantino, as his post clearly emphasized.
The FIFA President was not at all bothered by Qatar, on the contrary. “It will simply be the best World Cup in history, the greatest show in the world,” said the Swiss resident of the emirate a year ago. Twelve months later, the discussions about human rights, the “One Love” captain’s armband, sustainability and much more – have been ticked off.
Infantino’s chess set
It has long been clear that the games will be played in the USA, Canada and Mexico in 2026. Infantino developed the awarding of the 2030 and 2034 tournaments into the game of chess. Its council decided that the tournament should begin in 2030 with three games in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. The plan is then to move to Morocco, Spain and Portugal. This also has to be formally approved by the FIFA Congress. Due to the rotation principle, only representatives from Asia and Oceania will remain for 2034. There was no resistance in the Council – as there would have been if DFB President Bernd Neuendorf had voted against a World Cup in Europe.
The lack of competition in the awarding of the 2030 and 2034 tournaments is also a reason for Amnesty International to hold FIFA particularly accountable. “It is therefore crucial that the world football association takes responsibility and demands binding human rights guarantees from the applicants,” it said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia, which is hosting the FIFA Club World Cup at the end of the year, is not missing out on the opportunity. “This is the second step of an extremely exciting journey that the nation is embarking on,” association head Yasser Al Misehal said last when the declaration of intent was announced: With the application, “we are continuing our journey to make the dreams of our people become reality.” .
Football has an “exorbitant social significance” in Saudi Arabia, emphasized scientist Sons from the CARPO research institute. And in order to be perceived (positively) beyond its own borders, Saudi Arabia is spending huge amounts of money, bringing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and a number of other well-known and highly decorated players into the domestic league. Competitions throughout world sport have long been taking place in the Gulf, most recently a multi-million dollar boxing match.
Massive investments
In the course of massive investments in sport to improve its image, Saudi Arabia failed at least in its attempt to sign Lionel Messi. However, the Argentine world champion is already a highly paid ambassador for the Saudi Arabian tourism office. And that in turn acts as the top sponsor of the new African Super League. It can be assumed that this could also bring votes from the local federations when a World Cup host is chosen. This keeps the ball on the field.
How should the DFB behave in the debates, which had already had an extremely unfortunate performance in Qatar? It is fundamentally important that a political line towards the country is found, which an association can then orient itself towards, said Sons. The Foreign Office, for example, writes: “Saudi Arabia is Germany’s second most important trading partner in the Arab region after the United Arab Emirates, and Germany is Saudi Arabia’s fourth largest supplier.”