That this decision has happened so easily is a dispiriting sign of the Saudis’ increasing hold over world sport
Saudi Arabia's Minister of Sports and Youth Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal al-Saud follows the announcement of the host of the 2034 World Cup, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 11 December 2024. The Extraordinary FIFA Congress 2024 on 11 December officially named Saudi Arabia as the host nation of the FIFA World Cup 2034.
Saudi Arabia’s desire to use sport as an engine for its development throughout the 21st century is plain for all to see. Since 2021, the Saudi government has invested an estimated € 5.9bn in bringing high-profile sporting events to the gulf state. Boxing, golf, Formula One motor racing, UFC – all have seen their revenues hugely inflated by the Saudi kingdom’s wish to align itself with their highest-profile stars. Since no sport is bigger than football, the World Cup was always going to be next.
Fifa, led by its Swiss-Italian president Gianni Infantino, has been moving in this direction for years. In April of this year it announced a sponsorship deal with Aramco, the Saudi state oil company, worth in the region of € 95m a year. Infantino has long-standing links with the Saudi government, pointedly sitting between crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman and Vladimir Putin at the 2018 World Cup. Bringing the World Cup to Saudi Arabia has been his pet project as president.
The Saudi bid featured 11 stadiums that have yet to be built, one of them in a city that doesn’t even exist yet. The human toll of all the building work that needs to be carried out over the next 12 years will likely never be known. The fact that an estimated 6,500 workers died ahead of the Qatar World Cup does not bode well.
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