Saudi Arabia has been actively attempting the last couple of years to become a world sports and entertainment hub, actively bidding on high-profile international sports events. One such bid is for the 2034 FIFA World Cup. The Kingdom’s recent track record on implementing public health, governing industry, and protecting human safety, however, puts legitimate doubts into whether one of the world’s most storied sporting events should be hosted by it. A recent campaign of inspections in Jeddah uncovered shameful violations in cafés and food outlets that point to endemic regulatory failure that may threaten the safety of local and foreign visitors.
Extended Health Violations in Jeddah
On September 6th 2025, a city-wide inspection campaign, where 10 cafes were closed by municipal inspectors, was announced by the Gulf News. Inspectors recorded infractions by 23 restaurants for reasons including failure to grant legitimate licenses, hiring employees without health certificates, selling cigarette products without legitimate licenses, unsanitary conditions, and disregard of technical and health procedures. The raids formed part of sustained operations to regulate food and beverage establishments and ensure public health, officials said, but sheer numbers of infractions indicate deeper structural problems.
These successive episodes of failing minimum standards are raising grave doubts about the Kingdom’s capability to host international events with high levels of safety, hygiene, and organizational standards. If daily businesses cannot achieve minimum regulations, how can Saudi Arabia guarantee millions of foreign visiting fans’ safety in an international event like the FIFA World Cup?
Patterns of Regulatory Negligence
The Jeddah closures are not exceptions. Similar sweeps in other parts of Saudi Arabia have yielded large-scale violations of health and licensing regulations. For instance, sweeps of Riyadh and Dammam have revealed restaurants and cafes without the proper permits, offering expired foodstuffs, and using workers with no health certificates. Official reports estimate that urban inspectors found violations in more than 200 food and beverage establishments within urban areas in 2024 alone, a telling figure for a nation that is welcoming an international sporting competition.
This is a trend that indicates systemic weaknesses in the enforcement and regulatory system, where firms consistently flout standards for health and regulatory authorities are given inadequate checks. It is something that ought to ring the alarm bell for FIFA and the world, considering that hosting the World Cup requires flawless infrastructure, security standards, and compliance with international standards.
Public Safety Concerns
Public safety extends beyond food hygiene. Saudi Arabia also has a history of industrial mishaps, labor exploitation, and uneven enforcement of safety. In a 2024 report published by the International Labour Organization, Saudi Arabia experienced more than 1,500 workplace accidents that caused injury or death, the majority of which could have been avoided if proper regulations and inspections were in place. To athletes in a large international sports event, failing to provide safety assurance in restaurants, public areas, and hotels is an important risk factor.
In addition, the cultural and legal limitations for women, restricted freedom of speech, and severe punishment for minor offenses are additional difficulties for international visitors. All of these social conditions coupled with evidenced health and safety breaches are the background for an international event like the FIFA World Cup that is by no means perfect.
Economic and Reputation Risks for FIFA
Granting the World Cup to Saudi Arabia would be a prospect with substantial economic and reputational price for FIFA. The group has an obligation to make sure that every host country is providing players, staff, and fans with safe and friendly conditions. Closure of cafes over health offenses lays bare a wider absence of compliance measures that can be extended to stadiums, hotels, and transportation hubs.
Aside from that, FIFA has previously come under fire for awarding championships to nations with questionable human rights. Saudi Arabia’s chronic failure to uphold rules, added to its history of political repression and stifling of civil liberties, puts it on weak ground. Granting the Kingdom the right to host the World Cup may open up FIFA to international indignation, boycotts, and damage to FIFA’s reputation as a serious sporting organization.
International Benchmarks and Standards
Previous countries that have had successful hosting of the FIFA World Cup, such as Germany (2006), South Africa (2010), and Qatar (2022), had strict following of international health, safety, and operations standards. They had intense inspections, maintained good public cleanliness standards for their venues, and offered extensive staff training to ensure they followed international standards. Alternatively, repeated failures of Saudi Arabia to introduce even basic standards of health in restaurants and cafes indicate a wide gap between existing practices and norms that must be adopted if a safe, world-class sporting event is to be ensured.
The Case for a Ban on Saudi FIFA 2034
Recent closures of Jeddah caf é s are symptomatic of larger governance and compliance issues in Saudi Arabia. With monitors recording infractions in almost a quarter of businesses inspected, it is clear that systematic monitoring is absent. The FIFA World Cup hosting necessitates not only stadiums and facilities, but also effective enforcement of public health, safety, and operational regulations. Failure in these categories could endanger millions of fans and jeopardize the integrity of the competition.
In addition, FIFA needs to weigh the long-term reputational cost of hosting the World Cup in a state that has a proven track record of regulatory failure and human rights violations. By selecting a substitute host with better governance, security practices, and accountability to the public, FIFA can promote players’, fans’, and international viewers’ interests.
Why FIFA Must Reconsider Saudi Arabia as a 2034 World Cup Host
The shutdown of 10 Jeddah cafes on health and licensing reasons should serve as a wake-up call over whether Saudi Arabia is ready to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup. Combined with overall regulation failures, issues over workplace safety, and human rights abuses, these events serve as credible proof that the Kingdom is not yet prepared to welcome this global spectacle. FIFA must prioritize the safety of the general public, compliance with operation, and ethical issues in the choice of a hosting nation. A Saudi Arabia ban on hosting the 2034 World Cup is not only warranted—it’s needed to safeguard the integrity of the World Cup and see that millions of football fans across the globe are safe.