{"id":44661,"date":"2024-12-11T16:22:27","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T16:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=44661"},"modified":"2024-12-11T16:22:29","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T16:22:29","slug":"saudi-arabia-confirmed-as-2034-world-cup-host-despite-human-rights-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2024\/12\/11\/saudi-arabia-confirmed-as-2034-world-cup-host-despite-human-rights-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi Arabia confirmed as 2034 World Cup host despite human rights concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Saudi Arabia has been confirmed as the host for the 2034 men\u2019s World Cup, after the solitary bidder for the Fifa tournament was waved through by acclamation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The news confirms an outcome expected for more than a year since Fifa\u00a0expedited its bidding processfor the 2034 event. The decision has been widely\u00a0condemned by human rights organisations, who cite arbitrary detentions, the abuse and deaths of migrant workers and suppression of the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people in the country. The English Football Association is understood to have supported the bid at the congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Saudi officials have promised that the World Cup<\/a> will be part of a \u201cjourney of remarkable transformation\u201d for the country. Its bid document argues that the country has \u201cchampioned a human rights approach\u201d through the bidding process and commits to \u201cmanaging risk and maximizing positive social impact throughout the tournament\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country will embark on an enormous construction project with 11 new stadiums required to support a World Cup that will feature 48 sides. The tournament will be staged across five cities, with the capital, Riyadh, hosting eight stadiums. Owing to the stark summer temperatures in the region and the timing of Ramadan, the tournament is likely to take place in January and February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year Fifa gave countries only a month to express interest in hosting and changed its rule on infrastructure to allow countries with fewer suitable stadiums to bid. Saudi Arabia was the only country to officially express an interest. The vote was conducted by acclamation, or a collective round of applause, at a virtual meeting of Fifa\u2019s 211 member countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodney Dixon KC, who made\u00a0a legal submission to Fifa\u00a0in October with other human rights experts warning that it was \u201cdealing with the devil\u201d in planning to take the tournament to Saudi Arabia, said the governing body\u2019s reputation was \u201cin tatters and the game of football has been denigrated\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dixon, who has represented Hatice Cengiz, whose husband, Jamal Khashoggi, was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, said: \u201cFifa should insist on minimum human rights compliance by Saudi Arabia, at least, to release jailed political opponents, stop torture in its prisons, uphold women\u2019s rights, permit free speech and association, guarantee workers\u2019 rights, and establish an independent judiciary. If these conditions are not fulfilled, Fifa should in accordance with its own policy change the host country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The congress has also ratified the award of the 2030 World Cup to Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will stage a match each during the tournament in what Fifa said risked \u201ca significant negative impact on the climate\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n