2023-11-01 11:34:15
The Saudi football federation said it was ready on Wednesday November 1 to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup in winter or even in summer, ensuring that the oil monarchy could cope with ” All the possibilities “.
The Gulf kingdom, where temperatures can rise up to 50 degrees Celsius, won the organization of the tournament less than a year after the World Cup in neighboring Qatar, the first to be held outside of summer.
“There are many new technologies that allow cooling or adding air conditioners to stadiums, not to mention that many cities in the kingdom enjoy a very pleasant atmosphere in summer”underlined Tuesday evening the boss of Saudi football Yasser Al-Misehal. “We are ready to face all possibilities”he assured, on the sidelines of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) awards ceremony in Doha.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, applied on October 4, 27 days before the close of calls for tenders for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups.
After the attribution of the 2026 World Cup to the United States, Canada and Mexico, and that of 2030 to Spain, Portugal and Morocco, only member countries of the Asian and Oceanian confederations were invited to apply, following FIFA’s continental rotation policy.
The withdrawal on Tuesday of the only other candidate in the running, Australia, opened the way for Saudi Arabia. His appointment was confirmed by the president of the world football body, Gianni Infantino, on Instagram, although the official application file must still be submitted and put to a vote at the end of next year.
Human rights
The ultra-conservative kingdom, which only opened its doors to foreign tourists in 2019, is seeking to reduce its dependence on oil by focusing in particular on sport.
Under the leadership of its 38-year-old crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, the country has increased investments in football but also Formula 1, golf, horse riding and boxing.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been disbursed this year by its sovereign wealth fund to recruit football stars, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema, to Saudi clubs.
The monarchy is, however, widely criticized for its violations of human rights, both for the assassination in 2018 of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as for its frequent use of the death penalty, its laws against homosexuality, gender inequalities and its restrictions on freedom of expression.
The awarding of the World Cup to Saudi Arabia “despite its appalling human rights record shows that Fifa’s commitment to human rights is a sham”denounced Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch.
In a statement published on social media on Tuesday evening, the Saudi Football Federation said it “fully committed to meeting and exceeding the requirements of the application” highlighting “the immense passion for the game within our young nation”.
« Applications only »
According to Yasser Al-Misehal, Saudi Arabia will present a « applications only »to become the first country to host a World Cup on its own with 48 teams.
While most Saudi cities experience intense heat in summer, some benefit from a more temperate climate such as Abha, Taif or Al-Baha, where the Arab Club Football Championship took place last summer.
None of these cities, however, has sports infrastructure up to the level of the event, the largest stadiums being located in the capital Riyadh, or in the coastal city of Jeddah.
Far from the questions raised by the award process or human rights, the Saudis are delighted to host the most popular tournament in the world.
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