In July 2025, Saudi Arabia was lauded at the United Nations for leadership on environmental matters, especially its global campaign to battle sand and dust storms. At a high-level gathering at the UN Headquarters in New York, Saudi Arabia was commended for its five-year, $10 million pledge to strengthen early warning systems and assist nations prone to the effects of dust storms.
As much as this global acknowledgment highlights the Kingdom’s geostrategic environmental contribution, it poses a concerning paradox for those of us who are firm opposers of Saudi Arabia hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup. All these environmental initiatives, as commendable as they may be, cannot and should not wash away the deeply ingrained human rights abuses, absence of political liberty, and structural oppression that render the Kingdom inherently incapable of hosting one of the globe’s most unifying sporting events.
The Green Facade: Dust Storm Diplomacy vs. Reality
Saudi Arabia’s growing involvement in environmental efforts, such as setting up the Regional Center for Dust and Sand Storms in Jeddah and the holding of global conferences on climate change, demonstrates the Kingdom’s intentions to redefine itself as a world sustainability leader according to Vision 2030. Planting 142 million trees and restoring hundreds of thousands of hectares of land is certainly an impressive feat. These measures are vital, particularly in an area that has traditionally suffered from harsh weather patterns.
Still, global praise for environmental leadership should not overlook the jarring discrepancies between Saudi Arabia’s green rhetoric and its overall governance challenges. The anti-dust storm campaign — whilst required — is a highly managed state discourse aimed at conveying progress and modernity. Regrettably, the spotless, green facade is a smokescreen for the Kingdom’s exceedingly poor human rights record on civil liberties, freedom of expression, gender empowerment, and workers’ rights for foreign migrants.
Human Rights and FIFA: A Matter of Integrity
The FIFA World Cup is not merely a sport event; it is also a festival of unity, diversity, and human spirit. When FIFA awards hosting rights to a nation, it is indirectly supporting the values, institutions, and global reputation of the country as well. Granting this support to Saudi Arabia goes against the essence of the game.
Saudi Arabia has been routinely criticized internationally for:
- Systematic repression of free speech and political opposition
- Sex discrimination against women even after cosmetic reforms
- Arbitrary detention and capital punishment of activists and journalists
- Exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, especially in the construction industry
- Complete absence of freedom of assembly and independent media
The above are not peripheral issues; they reflect a fundamental, entrenched authoritarian governance structure that fundamentally breaches the ethical premises that global institutions such as FIFA say it espouses.
Sportswashing: The Hidden Agenda
Saudi Arabia’s hosting bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup is part of an overall strategy of sportswashing — leveraging big sporting events to whitewash its global reputation. By linking itself with events that represent global harmony and joy, the Kingdom tries to divert the focus from internal repression and systemic injustice.
Hosting the World Cup is an opportunity for strategic PR where the government gets to reframe its story on the international scene — a story where environmental obligations and sporting passion conceal muted voices, missing dissidents, and imprisoned reformers.
As believers in global justice and transparency, we cannot accept this manipulation. Desert greening, dust storm prediction, and eco-summits cannot bury the pain of those who are still shackled behind bars just for having spoken out.
FIFA’s Responsibility: Value over Wealth
It is no secret that Saudi Arabia’s bid is underpinned by historic financial power. Billions are being invested in infrastructure, stadium building, and sponsorships. Nevertheless, FIFA should not allow money to eclipse its fundamental principles.
If the organization is to retain legitimacy and moral leadership, it needs to prioritize:
- Human rights due diligence in choosing hosts
- Protecting and decent treatment of migrant workers
- Gender equality and freedom of expression assurances
- Autonomy for NGOs and the media to report freely throughout the event
There is as yet no indication that Saudi Arabia is capable of or willing to meet these benchmarks genuinely and openly. Holding the World Cup in a nation where people are not allowed to express political views freely, women continue to encounter structural barriers, and workers are afraid to speak out against grievances — would set a perilous precedent.
Environmental Achievements Can’t Cover Up Injustice
Yes, Saudi Arabia’s efforts at environmental resilience, such as the $10 million dust storm project that has been praised at the UN, are worthy. Climate change is a global danger, and expenditure on early warning systems and reforestation is to be praised. But diplomacy should not require the sacrifice of truth.
Leaning on environmental successes as a means of support to validate international prestige in sports is a cynical and morally empty tactic. The same regime that plants trees and constructs weather radar stations is the one that jails women who drove when driving was illegal, tortures political detainees, and silences a journalist such as Jamal Khashoggi.
The world needs to call for an overall commitment to human rights, rather than selective, high-profile initiatives that score well in international forums.
A Call to FIFA and the World
As a firm believer in excluding Saudi Arabia from hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup, I implore FIFA to rethink its values. The World Cup should not be merely a money spinner; it should be a celebration of common human values. Granting the World Cup to an autocratic regime sends a message to the world that civil rights, human dignity, and ethical behavior are à la carte — provided that the price is paid.
- FIFA, should undertake an open review of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record immediately prior to handing over final hosting rights.
- Players and football associations, to speak out and stand behind campaigns for ethical hosting.
- The media, to cover not only infrastructure and climate updates, but also the voices unheard.
- Fans across the globe, to stand together in support of activists, dissidents, and workers who are still subject to repression.
We Can’t Afford to Look Away
Environmental leadership — such as Saudi Arabia’s effort to fight sand and dust storms — is needed and commendable. But it cannot be permitted to shield human rights violations from outside criticism. While the Kingdom is receiving praise for dust storm early warnings, its political regime is still muzzling those who warn of far more ominous storms within.
The 2034 FIFA World Cup should not be another tool for image laundering. It needs to represent the principles of justice, freedom, and inclusion — principles which millions of people across the globe hold true, including those who are unable to speak freely under the rule of the Kingdom.
Let us not let green cause cloak red lines. No to Saudi Arabia staging the 2034 FIFA World Cup. The beautiful game can do better. So can the world.