ZURICH (AP) — Saudi Arabia will be confirmed by FIFA as host of the men’s soccer 2034 World Cup on Wednesday, giving the oil-rich kingdom its biggest prize yet for massive spending on global sports driven by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The decision completes a mostly opaque 15-month bid process which FIFA president Gianni Infantino helped steer toward Saudi Arabia without a rival candidate, without taking questions, and which human rights groups warn will put the lives of migrant workers at risk.
FIFA and Saudi officials say hosting the 2034 tournament can accelerate change, including more freedoms and rights for women.
A fast-track path to victory was cleared last year by FIFA accepting a three-continent hosting plan for the 2030 World Cup led by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. That bid also will win Wednesday in a combined approval for the 2030 and 2034 tournament hosts by applause from more than 200 FIFA member federations in an online meeting hosted from Zurich by Infantino.
It will kick off a decade of scrutiny on Saudi labor laws and treatment of workers mostly from South Asia needed to help build and upgrade 15 stadiums, plus hotels and transport networks ahead of the 104-game tournament.
One of the stadiums is planned to be 350 meters (yards) above the ground in Neom — a futuristic city that does not yet exist — and another named for the crown prince is designed to be atop a 200-meter cliff near Riyadh.
During the bid campaign, FIFA has accepted limited scrutiny of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record that was widely criticized this year at the United Nations.
Saudi and international rights groups and activists warned FIFA it has not learned the lessons of Qatar’s much-criticized preparations to host the 2022 World Cup.
The kingdom plans to spend tens of billion of dollars on projects related to the World Cup as part of the crown prince’s sweeping Vision 2030 project that aims to modernize Saudi society and economy. At its core is spending on sports by the $900 billion sovereign wealth operation, the Public Investment Fund, which he oversees. Critics have called it “sportswashing” of the kingdom’s reputation.
The prince, known as MBS, has built close working ties to Infantino since 2017 — aligning with the organizer of sport’s most-watched event rather than directly confronting the established system as it did with the disruptive LIV Golf project.
The result for Saudi Arabia and FIFA has been smooth progress toward the win Wednesday with limited pushback from soccer officials, though some from women international players.
The steady flow of Saudi cash into international soccer is set to increase.
FIFA created a new and higher World Cup sponsor category for state oil firm Aramco, and Saudi funding is set to underwrite the 2025 Club World Cup in the United States that is a pet project for Infantino.
North American soccer body CONCACAF signed a multi-year deal with PIF, Saudi stadiums host Super Cup games for Italy and Spain, and nearly 50 FIFA member federations have signed working agreements with Saudi counterparts.
Lavish spending by PIF-owned Saudi clubs in the past two years buying and paying players – including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mané – put hundreds of millions of dollars into European soccer.
That influence could be key in talks to agree which months to play the 2034 World Cup. The November-December slot taken by Qatar in 2022 to avoid extreme midsummer heat is complicated in 2034 by the holy month of Ramadan through mid-December and Riyadh hosting the multi-sport Asian Games.
Still, January 2034 could be an option — and likely better for European clubs and leagues —after the International Olympic Committee said it saw few issues in clashing with the Salt Lake Winter Games opening Feb. 10, 2034. The IOC also has a major commercial deal with Saudi Arabia, to host the new Esports Olympics.
