November 26 – Two United States senators have urged FIFA not to pick Saudi Arabia as the 2034 World Cup host because of the country’s human rights record.
Democrats Ron Wyden of Oregon and Dick Durbin of Illinois have written to FIFA president Gianni Infantino imploring him to “seek out a host country with a record of upholding human rights.”
Saudi Arabia has been the only candidate for 2034 since FIFA controversially opened a fast-track nomination process in October last year.
The contest seemed deliberately rigged to allow the Saudis to win despite the same concerns that plagued Qatar ahead of the 2022 tournament.
At an online meeting on December 11, FIFA’s global membership is expected to endorse Saudi Arabia by acclamation at the same time 2030 co-hosts Spain, Portugal and Morocco are given the green light with individual matches going to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
“Approving Saudi Arabia’s bid this December endangers workers, athletes, tourists, and members of the press, and it runs counter to FIFA’s own human rights policies,” Wyden and Durbin wrote in a letter seen by The Associated Press.
“The kingdom continues to torture dissidents, engage in extrajudicial killings, discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community, oppress women and religious minorities, exploit and abuse foreign workers, and restrict almost all political rights and civil liberties.”
“More concerningly,” the senators wrote, “the Saudis have failed to address how they will uphold labour protections, press freedoms, non-discrimination and inclusion standards.
“We strongly urge FIFA to take all steps necessary to thoroughly re-evaluate Saudi Arabia’s ill-equipped World Cup bid ahead of December and select a rights-respecting host country.”
Infantino has been bending over backwards to build close ties to the crown prince over several years. FIFA bid rules for World Cup candidates require an assessment of human rights risks for the tournament but last month human rights organisations called out law firm Clifford Chance for lacking independence and cherry-picking in its assessment.
Eleven organisations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch wrote that “the assessment contains no substantive discussion of extensive and relevant abuses in Saudi Arabia documented by multiple human rights organisations and UN bodies.”
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