In July 2024, the world was left speechless as Saudi club Al Hilal stunned Manchester City with a 4–3 win in the FIFA Club World Cup. The drama was on the pitch. Players broke down in tears. Fans erupted. A journalist was heard to say the game was more celebratory than his wedding day. But under the emotion and victory is a greater, more disturbing narrative — one that should prompt serious questions about FIFA’s granting the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia.
The Al Hilal win was more than a sporting milestone; it was the next step in Saudi Arabia’s planned effort to remake its international reputation using sports, an activity referred to as sportswashing. While football headlines rejoiced in the exciting game, the Saudi regime made silently its greater goal of distracting the world from its human rights violations and solidifying global soft power. That is exactly why Saudi Arabia has no business hosting the world’s most glamorous football tournament.
A Game Won on the Field, A Narrative Built Off It
Al Hilal’s triumph was not simply a footballing shock — it was a meticulously crafted success story. Bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the club’s ascent mirrors decades of calculated investment in sport. The PIF has invested billions in not just domestic football but also international sports assets, such as Newcastle United English Premier League club, LIV Golf, boxing titles, and Formula One events.
In the Club World Cup, Saudi state influence was not limited to the field. PIF’s tie-up with broadcaster DAZN ensured that the tournament went free-to-air across the world, while FIFA also increased the prize money to $1 billion. Saudi fingerprints were ubiquitous — from hoardings advertising to VIP seats where FIFA officials, Manchester City officials, and Saudi royalty witnessed Al Hilal’s triumph. This was not about goals and glory. It was about symbolism. About telling the world that Saudi Arabia has arrived — not merely as a sporting competitor, but as a powerbroker determining its destiny.
The Real Scoreline: Human Rights Vs Soft Power
Saudi Arabia’s employment of football and other international sporting platforms as part of its Vision 2030 strategy, an effort to diversify the economy of the kingdom and restore the country’s global reputation, is a campaign that exists in tandem with — and tends to obscure — the kingdom’s strongly problematic human rights situation. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch report:
- Between 2022 alone, Saudi Arabia executed 196 individuals, including those detained as children.
- Peaceful protesters, such as blogger Raif Badawi, have been given 1000 lashes and years of imprisonment for simply having critical opinions.
- In April, around 15 Women’s rights activists were imprisoned and reportedly tortured.
- LGBTQ individuals are still criminalized and persecuted.
- Migrant workers, the workforce behind Saudi mega-events, continue to suffer from systematic exploitation under the abusive kafala system.
The human rights assessment by FIFA has ranked Saudi Arabia as a “medium risk,” a rating that Amnesty International described as an “astonishing whitewash.” Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia won the rights to host the 2034 World Cup, rewarded with the most global of sporting events despite continuing repression.
FIFA’s Complicity
FIFA chief Gianni Infantino described the Club World Cup victory as “the beginning of a new football era.” But what type of era is it? Infantino has consistently welcomed Saudi investment, seeking both financial and political support from the kingdom. Since taking office, FIFA has been more and more ensnared in the embrace of autocratic regimes seeking to use football to whitewash their image.
Instead of holding host nations to substantive human rights norms, FIFA seems to have taken a course of convenience and commercial accommodation. While Saudi Arabia will likely spend a reported $40 billion on hosting the 2034 World Cup, the organization seems to be more interested in profit over principle.
A Pattern of Sportswashing?
Al Hilal’s triumph isn’t an isolated narrative — it’s one in a series. From 2016 onwards, Saudi Arabia has methodically employed sport to redefine itself globally:
- Hosted Formula One events on a permanent track in Jeddah
- Launched LIV Golf to shake up the PGA Tour
- Purchased rights to big-ticket boxing shows
- Invested in tennis and won hosting rights for the WTA finals
- It has brought in international football stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., and Karim Benzema to compete in the Saudi Pro League
All of these actions have served to mainstream the Saudi government among global audiences. And all of them threaten to mask the facts of life for Saudi citizens who are unable to speak out freely, protest peacefully, or advocate for basic rights.
The Illusion of Change
Some of those who are optimistic point out that Saudi Arabia is changing — that these investments signal an opening-up of the country. But public relations isn’t reform. The reality is harsh: not one of the major indicators of human rights has gotten better with Saudi Arabia’s sporting emergence. In some instances, they’ve gotten worse.
It is not sufficient for Saudi Arabia to host tournaments, sign up international stars, or fill crowds. If the groundwork continues to be authoritarian rule, censorship, and persecution, then these shows are nothing more than diversions — shiny facades over systemic abuses.
Why Hosting FIFA 2034 Is a Dangerous Precedent?
Allowing Saudi Arabia to host the World Cup is a blunt message: international prestige is for sale, and sports administration will look away if the payoff is sufficient. Football is not just a sport. Football unites nations, brings people together across borders, and honors human creativity and adaptability. But when it is a mechanism to whitewash oppression, it is something uglier — an instrument of erasure.
The 2034 FIFA World Cup, if staged by Saudi Arabia, will be played out in stadiums constructed with migrant workers in a state that imprisons critics and stifles expression. That should frighten anyone who cares about the purity of sport.
It’s Time to Speak Up — Football Cannot Ignore Abuse
This is not an appeal for boycotting one game or lamenting a club’s win. It is a larger call to conscience and responsibility. Governments, players, fans, and national football associations must demand better. It’s time to end the normalization of repression through sport. Hosting the World Cup should require more than money and modern stadiums.
It should require a demonstrated commitment to human rights, transparency, and respect for all people — qualities Saudi Arabia has not shown. If we remain silent, we support the illusion. If we boo uncritically, we assist in the cover-up of abuse. The world can enjoy football, not be complicit in its exploitation.