Less than a year ago, the much-discussed tournament was held in Qatar. There has been a lot of criticism about the poor working conditions of migrant workers. But the same discussion may soon arise again after Saudi Arabia, after being passed over to host the World Cup in 2030, reports to FIFA again.
Saudi Arabia progress
The West Asian country has been trying to gain a foothold when it comes to professional football in recent years. A lot of money is being invested: last summer, the Saudi League (Saudi Professional League) spent hundreds of millions of euros to recruit new players such as Sadio Mane, Neymar and Karim Benzema to various clubs.
The possible organization of the FIFA World Cup in 2034 fits this line. The country has made great progress in sports in recent years, says sports marketer Frank van den Wall Beek. “They hope that by attracting great players, children will also be encouraged to play football.”
The chance of the Saudis actually being allowed to organize the World Cup has increased significantly now that FIFA announced yesterday that countries affiliated with the Asian (AFC) and Oceania (OFC) confederations may submit bids to organize the tournament in 2034. For van den Wall Beek, there is no doubt who will organize World Cup: “FIFA President Gianni Infantino will do everything in his power to bring it to Saudi Arabia.”
But the sports marketer does not expect that the choice of Saudi Arabia will soon attract as much criticism as the choice of Qatar at the time. “Twelve stadiums have been built in Qatar, which is absolutely incredible for such a small country. In Saudi Arabia it is completely different: there are many clubs that can benefit from the stadiums. It will be really well organised.”
Plus, they really learned from the World Cup in Qatar, says van den Wall Beek. “There are smart people at the helm and I’m sure they would approach it completely differently. You can also see that in other sporting events that have gone there, like Formula 1 and golf. Their aim is to get in front of the tourists and they are.” It works well with that.”
Criticism of FIFA
During the World Cup in Qatar, FIFA President Infantino had to endure a lot of criticism. For example, he said of migrant workers in Qatar: “When you give someone work, even under difficult circumstances, you give them dignity and pride.”
Infantino is not only criticized as FIFA president. The Swiss citizen was criminally investigated in 2020 after holding secret meetings with Michael Lauber, a senior official in the Swiss Public Prosecution Office. This was strictly prohibited, because the Swiss Ministry of Justice was investigating corruption within FIFA at the time.
Shortly after this investigation, Infantino left for Qatar, ostensibly to assist Qatar in its World Cup preparations. Van den Wall Beek: “Once the World Cup goes to Saudi Arabia, he will travel there again.”
In the run-up to the World Cup in Qatar last year, RTL Z explained in this video why Western countries should not boycott the tournament:
