Saudi Arabia 2034 World Cup: FIFA urged to deny country host privileges amid human rights violations

FIFA have been encouraged to deny Saudi Arabia the privilege of hosting the World Cup in 2034 by a panel of experts, citing the country’s human rights record.

The panel states that Saudi Arabia is in violation of FIFA’s own human rights guidelines - as such, they believe that the kingdom should not be permitted to host the tournament. Similar discontent was aimed at FIFA’s decision to allow Qatar to host the World Cup in 2022, though it was allowed to go ahead regardless.

Saudi Arabia has played host to a plethora of major sporting events over the last ten years. It has hosted some massive boxing cards recently, such as Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk - it has also played host to several WWE events, such as the Greatest Royal Rumble and their Crown Jewel series of shows.

Furthermore, Saudi Arabia has begun to stake its claim in the world of football. Several high-profile footballers now play in the Saudi Pro League, such as Neymar, Kalidou Koulibaly and Cristiano Ronaldo - additionally, they also hosted the Club World Cup in 2023.

A quote from the experts reads [via The Guardian]: “FIFA should not permit Saudi Arabia to host the World Cup if it continues to flagrantly disregard human rights in several areas in breach of FIFA's own policies. It is obvious that Saudi Arabia falls very far short of those requirements. Given this, as matters currently stand, Fifa simply cannot properly permit it to host the 2034 World Cup.”

Barrister Rodney Dixon KC, a prominent member of the group of experts, said: “We hope that FIFA will constructively engage with the proposals put forward and that they stand ready to assist with all interested parties to effectively implement FIFA’s human rights policies. It is most important that it produces tangible results and is not a mere paper exercise.”