Saudi Arabia has been officially confirmed by FIFA to host the 2034 World Cup, handing the oil-rich kingdom its biggest prize yet for the massive global sports spending led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Saudi bid was the only candidate and was applauded by more than 200 FIFA member federations. They participated remotely in an online meeting organized by the president of the football organization Gianni Infantino in Zurich on Wednesday.
"The congressional vote is loud and clear," said Infantino, who asked officials on a series of screens to clap their hands at head level to show their support.
The decision was linked to the approval of a single candidate to host the World Cup in 2030. Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host the six-nation project, with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay each getting one of the 104 matches.
The South American connection will mark the centenary of Uruguay hosting the first World Cup in 1930.
The decisions cap a mostly opaque 15-month bidding process that Infantino helped steer to Saudi Arabia without a rival candidate, no questions asked, and which rights groups warn will put the lives of migrant workers at risk.
FIFA and Saudi Arabia officials said hosting the tournament in 2034 could spur changes, including more freedoms and rights for women.
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The fast track to victory was cleared last year by FIFA's adoption of a plan to host the 2030 World Cup for three continents. This meant that only association football in Asia and Oceania were eligible for the 2034 competition, and FIFA gave them less than four weeks to announce. Only Saudi Arabia has done this.
A Saudi victory will kick off a decade of scrutiny of labor laws and the treatment of workers, mostly from South Asia, who need help building and modernizing 15 stadiums, plus hotels and transport networks ahead of the 104-game tournament.
One of the stadiums is to be 350 meters above ground in Neom - a futuristic city that does not yet exist - and another named for the crown prince is designed to be on top of a 200m cliff near Riyadh.
During the bidding campaign, FIFA accepted limited scrutiny of Saudi Arabia's human rights record, which has been widely criticized at the United Nations this year.
Saudi and international human rights organizations and activists have warned FIFA that it has failed to learn from Qatar's much-criticised preparations to host the 2022 World Cup.
FIFA made a "reckless decision" to sanction Saudi Arabia without obtaining public assurances about human rights protections, an international collective of rights groups said in a statement.
"At every stage of this bidding process, FIFA has shown its commitment to human rights to be a sham," said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International's head of labor rights and sport.
The kingdom plans to spend tens of billions of dollars on World Cup-related projects as part of the crown prince's sweeping Vision 2030 project to modernize Saudi society and the economy. At its heart is spending on sports by running the $900 billion public investment fund it oversees. Critics called it "sportswashing" of the kingdom's reputation.
The prince, known as MBS, has developed close working ties with Infantino since 2017 - teaming up with the organizer of the most watched sporting event rather than directly challenging the established system, as he did with the disruptive LIV Golf project.
The result for Saudi Arabia and FIFA was a smooth progression towards a winning center with limited opposition from football officials, albeit some from international players.
The steady flow of Saudi cash into international football will increase.
FIFA has created a new and higher tier of World Cup sponsors for state oil company Aramco, and Saudi funding is set to secure the 2025 Club World Cup in Infantino's pet United States.
North American soccer body CONCACAF has signed a multi-year deal with PIF, Saudi stadiums host Super Cup matches for Italy and Spain, and nearly 50 FIFA member federations have signed working agreements with their Saudi counterparts.
Heavy spending by PIF-owned Saudi clubs over the past two years to buy and pay players - including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane - has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into European football.
This influence could be key in negotiations over which months the 2034 World Cup will be played in. The November-December time slot Qatar took in 2022 to avoid extreme summer heat is complicated by the holy month in 2034 Ramadan until mid-December and Riyadh, where the multi-sport Asian Games are held.
Still, January 2034 could be an option - and probably better for European clubs and leagues - after the International Olympic Committee said it saw few problems clashing with the Salt Lake Winter Games, which open on February 10, 2034. The IOC also has a big ad with Saudi Arabia to host a new Olympics in esports.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
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