When Saudi Arabia was awarded the right to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, the news was celebrated by leaders of the government and trumpeted on international media as a symbol of development. The Kingdom has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure, stadium building, and marketing campaigns abroad designed to portray itself as progressive and modern. But behind the shiny veneer lies a reality that eats away at the very fabric football represents.
A recent Saudi newspaper op-ed in Al-Madina uncovered a troubling truth in the Kingdom: its schools are not delivering safe, engaging, and inspirational places for its children. This deficiency is no small domestic matter—it is a symptom of more profound systemic problems of coercion, authoritarianism, and neglect that infect Saudi society in general. If a country cannot raise its own children with respect and promise, then how can it be trusted to host the world’s finest sporting event?
Saudi Education: High Spending, Poor Results
Saudi Arabia is a top world spender on education, allocating approximately 8.8% of GDP, almost double the world average of 4.6%. The Ministry of Education has an appropriation of nearly 185 billion SAR (over $50 billion USD), almost one-fifth of all governmental spending. On paper at least, this expenditure is meant to translate to top-notch schools and a degree of world competitiveness.
But results paint a dramatically different picture. Saudi pupils in the 2022 PISA assessments scored 373 in maths, 403 in reading and 389 in science. These positions place the Kingdom far below the OECD average, at around 35th place worldwide. Worse, Saudi reading scores actually decreased by 4% between 2018 and 2022, despite heavy investment and overhaul. Whereas the school going in primary levels is at a plateau of 98.5% and the literacy rates are at 98–99%, the quality of education is not being matched to the world’s standards.
A System Based on Fear and Coercion
The root issue is not financial but one of culture. In his opinion column Al-Madina, Hamzat Wasl recalled a childhood not of questioning and joy but of intimidation and punishment. He recalled how his father chastised a school principal: “The flesh is yours, and the bone is mine.” This foreboding sentence summed up the abusive punitive atmosphere in Saudi classrooms, where bodily beating and intimidation ruled the classroom.
Despite social progress and technological advancement, far too many Saudi classrooms remain terror-filled environments. Even the recent reforms, such as barring students with more than 10% of attendance from promotion, fail to address the root problem: school is an unpleasant, anxiety-ridden environment where creativity and critical thinking are not encouraged. Officials caution that the culture of coercion is in danger of producing generations of citizens wired to conform, not create—an outcome in keeping with the Kingdom’s own brand of authoritarianism.
Education as a Reflection of Authoritarian Rule
Saudi education is a mirror on the state’s system of governance in general. As in public affairs, freedom of speech and dissent are suppressed in it, and as in society generally, questioning and imagination are frowned on in schools. A society that values only conformity can barely be said to reflect the ethos of football—a sport which lives by imagination, passion, and freedom.
Footy’s global popularity depends on enjoyment, fantasy, and empowering youth. The education system of Saudi Arabia, built on coercion and control, is the exact opposite. When domestic institutions of a country repress rather than foster, the query needs to be put forward concerning its capacity to stage an uniting international spectacle.
Human Rights Abuses Reinforce the Case
Saudi Arabia’s education failures are not an isolated phenomenon. They are part of Saudi Arabia’s broader human rights track record, long at the focus of criticism by organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Abuse of migrant labor: Saudi Arabia’s Kafala system has placed millions of workers under the umbrella of abusive terms similar to forced labor. As the Kingdom prepares for World Cup building, the risks are already evident. There are reports of at least 17 Nepali dead on Saudi construction sites in 18 months. Some were reported to have died under “natural causes,” and therefore, were not investigated. These cases are just like the Qatar 2022 scandals and demonstrate that Saudi Arabia will be repeating the same abuse on an even larger scale.
Curbing of free speech: Journalists, activists, and dissidents are routinely arrested for expressing themselves, expressing criticism of the regime. This is a parody of the classroom situation where interrogation is suppressed.
Use of the death penalty: Saudi Arabia used the death penalty alone in 2022 to execute 196 people, including instances when individuals were executed for crimes committed when they were minors. This means a lack of respect for international human rights law.
Gender inequality: Women are still under systemic restrictions, even with modest reforms, such as male guardianship laws and limited autonomy.
These human rights abuses are consistent with a culture where punishment and coercion are the rule—school, court, or market. Awarding Saudi Arabia hosting the World Cup sends the signal that these abuses can be waved away if a country spends enough money on image-makeover schemes.
Save the Spirit of Football
Saudi Arabia is investing billions in stadiums, contracts, and advertising campaigns, but the foundations are authoritarianism, coercion, and oppression. Its schools do not educate for creativity. Its courts muffle dissent. Its system of labor exploits the vulnerable. And its investments in sports are meant to deflect from all of that.
The granting of the 2034 FIFA World Cup to Saudi Arabia must not go unchallenged. Human rights organizations, civil society networks, football associations, and fans worldwide must be heard. Just as the sporting community resisted apartheid South Africa, it must resist sportswashing authoritarianism.
The FIFA World Cup cannot become an exercise in branding for regimes who want to degrade the very values the game represents. For the sake of football’s integrity and the honor of the world’s people, Saudi Arabia must be excluded from hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup.