FIFA World Cup hosts confirmed: Saudi Arabia wins 2034 bid; Spain, Portugal, Morocco land centenary 2030 bid
CBSDEC 1 2024
FIFA Backs Saudi World Cup Bid
Above: The FIFA World Cup Trophy is displayed on a plinth at Toronto Island on Aug. 22, 2024, in Toronto, Canada. Image copyright: Cole Burston/Contributor/FIFA via Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
The World Cup presents a significant opportunity to catalyze positive reforms in Saudi Arabia. The government has committed to protecting internationally recognized human rights, including labor rights, gender equality, and press freedom. The decade-long preparation period provides ample time to implement meaningful changes and deliver world-class infrastructure.
Narrative B
The FIFA evaluation is an astonishing whitewash of Saudi Arabia's human rights record, lacking meaningful commitments to prevent worker exploitation, forced evictions, and activist arrests. The tournament will inevitably be tarnished by exploitation, discrimination, and repression without fundamental human rights reforms.