FIFA awards World Cup 2034 to Saudi Arabia: an non-transparent chapter!

FIFA awards World Cup 2034 to Saudi Arabia: an non-transparent chapter!

Saudi-Arabien - The FIFA has decided: The 2034 World Cup will take place in Saudi Arabia. This surprising news ensures massive criticism, not only by human rights organizations, but also from politics. The controversial procurement procedure led to angry reactions, since Saudi Arabia is on the line of fire due to its questionable human rights situation. "FIFA sells its soul for the billions of Saudi Arabia. An ugly day for the beautiful game," said the American newspaper USA Today, while the world offers a critical look at the methodology of choice and calls it "the cowst edition in the history of sport", as well as numerous other international media. The award of Saudi Arabia took place as part of a virtual congress, where the member associations gave their blessings through applause without waiting for an official application process.

criticism from politics and media

The reactions to the award are not long in coming. In Germany, politicians from all stripes spoke up. The SPD MP Sabine Poschmann described the decision as not portable, and explained: "Saudi Arabia is at least as problematic as far as human rights are concerned as Qatar." The Greens also made it clear that the process of awarding the World Cup was "a sobering return to old patterns". "The DFB would therefore have to get more involved," said the two MPs Philip Krämer and Boris Mijatovic. The DFB itself has given its consent to the award, which is interpreted by many as a signal that the association does not want to be isolated in international football.

This World Cup will be the first with 48 teams and the stadiums are built on an impressive scale. Nevertheless, the significant concerns about the high temperatures in summer remain on the scene due to the precautions for the 2034 event. The schedule for the World Cup has not yet been determined, but experts suspect that the competition could possibly be moved to the cooler months of February or March to escape the extreme summer warming, as the Daily Mail reported.

For FIFA there is now a delicate phase, the international community will observe exactly how the situation develops and whether Saudi Arabia can actually meet expectations, while the country's PR machine is already in full swing.