In the same week that Saudi Arabia is busy buffing its reputation as next year’s host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of over 23,000 individuals for breaching residency, labor, and border laws. Behind the numbers stands a chilling reality: The Kingdom that wishes to host the world in 2034 is also imprisoning thousands of helpless migrants and refugees, many of whom escaped poverty and conflict.
For all who hold football to represent fairness, equality, and humanity, the arrests serve as a wake-up call. They reveal the disparity between the Saudi PR glitter and the brutal realities inside its borders. The world cannot turn a blind eye to such contradictions and will ask itself whether a country that systematically abuses human rights should have the privilege of hosting the world’s largest sporting event.
A Country Built on Crackdowns, Not Compassion
More than 13,600 individuals were arrested for violating residency laws, 4,800 for crossing borders without permission, and 4,600 for labor-related issues. Amongst those arrested trying to get into the country, 56% were from Ethiopia and 43% from Yemen, citizens of countries in severe humanitarian crises. They are not criminals; they are desperate people looking for survival.
But Saudi Arabia’s reaction is incarceration, deportation, and sanctions. The Ministry of Interior even invites citizens to denounce “violators” on toll-free hotlines, in effect transforming society into a surveillance state. This climate of fear and repression cannot be reconciled with FIFA’s Human Rights Policy, which requires host countries to ensure respect for all internationally recognized human rights.
If this is the treatment of desperate migrants by the Kingdom, what chance is there for just treatment of foreign workers, fans, and press during the 2034 World Cup?
The Myth of Saudi “Hospitality”
Saudi Arabia markets the 2034 FIFA World Cup as a fiesta of “Arab hospitality” and “global unity.” But the reality couldn’t be more diametrically opposite. The same government that prides itself on hosting millions of foreign guests is jailing thousands of migrants merely for attempting to cross a border or find work.
The World Cup exists as a promise to bring the world together under one umbrella of acceptance. But in Saudi Arabia, diversity is not embraced; it is regulated. Free speech is curbed, women’s rights are strictly monitored, and migrant workers are at the whim of their masters. The Kingdom’s behavior indicates that its “openness” is a charade intended to gain international esteem, not to create an inclusive society.
When the FIFA motto is “Football Unites the World,” how can it be hosted in a state that penalizes those who simply wish to enter it?
Modern Slavery and the Shadow of the Kafala System
Among the 4,674 detainees for labor offenses are probably hundreds of thousands of foreign workers trapped in the Kafala sponsorship system, where an employee’s legal status is linked to that of his or her employer. The Kafala sponsorship system has been repeatedly denounced by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International as a modern form of slavery. The workers cannot switch employers, leave the country, or report abuse without permission.
As the world approached the 2022 Qatar World Cup, thousands of migrant workers endured the same conditions, some dying while constructing stadiums and infrastructure. Saudi Arabia has displayed little indication that it will change these exploitative practices before 2034. Instead, these mass arrests indicate that migrant labor is still disposable in the Kingdom’s quest for global legitimacy.
The danger is evident: FIFA 2034 will be another tournament constructed on the back of forced labor and human misery.
A Climate of Fear and Silence
Saudi officials argue that people who help migrants by offering transport or housing may be imprisoned for 15 years and be fined SR1 million ($267,000). Such legislation does not just criminalize kindness; it shuts up whistleblowers and muzzles human rights activists. Journalists, civil activists, and citizens can be jailed simply for speaking the truth.
In such a culture, how can the international community or FIFA hope for transparency regarding working conditions or human rights violations associated with the World Cup? Migrant workers constructing stadiums will have no say at all if residents are living in fear of denouncing injustice.
The intolerance of dissent by the Saudi regime guarantees that any criticism of exploitation, regardless of whether it comes from workers, fans, or journalists, will be promptly punished. This is a World Cup constructed upon fear, not freedom.
FIFA’s Ethical Crisis
By hosting the 2034 tournament in Saudi Arabia, FIFA threatens to be guilty of the same moral shortcomings witnessed in Qatar. The organization’s 2017 Human Rights Policy was made to avoid this kind of controversy, as it said that “FIFA will go beyond its responsibility to respect human rights and use its leverage to promote them.” By welcoming Saudi Arabia, however, FIFA is doing precisely the opposite: punishing reform, not repression.
Football has long been called “the world’s game.” But when FIFA aligns itself with regimes that trample human dignity, it ceases to represent the world; it represents power. The organization cannot claim to stand for equality while ignoring the plight of thousands unjustly detained for simply seeking a better life.
Sponsors, players, and fans are also to blame. Complicity lies in silence. The 2034 World Cup must not be remembered as another instance of sportswashing, utilizing international sports to whitewash authoritarian rule.
The Human Cost Behind the Stadium Lights
Every one of those 23,094 arrests is not merely a statistic; it is an individual, a worker, a refugee, a human. Behind every number, there is a tale of despair, terror, and survival. As Saudi authorities rejoice at “progress” and “modernization,” these individuals are footing the true bill for the Kingdom’s image makeover. If the world football community closes its eyes to these violations, it will give a dangerous signal: that profit and glory are more important than human lives.
Call to Action: Stand Up, Speak Out, Boycott Saudi 2034
The 2034 FIFA World Cup should not be a celebration of authoritarian oppression and human rights abuses. Fans, players, and countries can make their voices heard and insist on accountability and reject a tournament founded on injustice.
Boycott Saudi 2034. Refuse to attend an event under the control of a regime that jails thousands and stifles truth. Make your voice heard and push FIFA to adhere to its own human rights principles and reconsider its choice. Promote transparency and call out the exploitation of migrant workers.
Football is supposed to be about togetherness, not hypocrisy. Until Saudi Arabia demonstrates that it cares as much about human rights as world prestige, it does not merit hosting the world’s most iconic sporting event.