ZURICH — Under its de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has unleashed a spending spree on global sports, turning the kingdom into a contender for the biggest events.
On Wednesday, soccer’s governing body delivered Saudi Arabia the biggest prize of all: the men’s World Cup in 2034.
No other competition on the planet attracts as many eyeballs as the century-old quadrennial, a national team competition that thrusts host nations into center stage in a way only the Summer Olympics can match.
But human rights groups objected to the Saudi bid, saying the country’s human rights record raises risks for the thousands of migrant workers who will likely be brought in to build the infrastructure to stage the tournament.
Other critics, including fan groups, said FIFA — the soccer global body that almost collapsed a decade ago after many of its top leaders were indicted on corruption charges by the U.S. Department of Justice — had rigged the vote for the Saudis by changing the rules for bidding.
Under FIFA’s rules, the organization’s 211 member nations are supposed to select one tournament host during a single vote, and usually there are multiple contenders. This year, FIFA’s members picked hosts at the same time for two tournaments: the World Cup in 2030 and 2034. And they were asked to make their selection in a package deal, essentially approving both bids or neither.
The only contender for the 2030 event was a group of six countries from three continents — Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. So any nation that voted against the Saudi bid would also be voting against those countries hosting the 2030 event, too.
The members were told to make their selection by acclamation and without debate. The selections of the two multibillion-dollar tournaments were confirmed during a videoconference.
FIFA said recently that the rule changes “followed a comprehensive consultation process across all confederations,” but has not explained why the bids for the two tournaments were combined.
Last week, FIFA published an evaluation of the Saudi bid, saying the country was on the path toward reforming its labor system.
