The beautiful game has always been a reflection of society—mirroring not only the happiness of sport, but the strife, aspirations, and morality of our international community. But increasingly over the past few decades, football has been hijacked by dominant interests that want to exploit its sheer popular appeal for reputational and political benefit. Nowhere is this more strongly felt than with Saudi Arabia’s acquisition of the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
What seems like a simple football competition is a carefully crafted campaign of “sportswashing“—an attempt by the Saudi regime to cover up a ruthless human rights track record using the glossy glamour of international sports.
Recent diplomatic efforts, like the meetings with Kazakh and Pakistani ambassadors, are not accidents—it is all part of a larger geopolitical play to consolidate alliances and stifle critics. This blog analyzes why the world needs to boycott the Saudi 2034 FIFA World Cup and refuse to be complicit in making authoritarianism normal under the illusion of football.
Saudi Arabia’s Soft Power Play: Diplomacy Meets Sportswashing
Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister for Political Affairs, Saud Al-Sati, on July 2025, received the ambassadors of Kazakhstan and Pakistan to discuss tightening bilateral relations and matters of common interest. Though diplomatic meetings are common place, the timing, and scenario evoke further alarm. Following Saudi Arabia’s hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup, the meetings seem to be a calculated soft power campaign.
Soft power, as conceived by political theorist Joseph Nye, is the capacity to influence preferences through attraction and appeal, not coercion. In Saudi Arabia’s context, that entails staging mega-sporting events and enhancing ties with strategically significant countries in order to insulate itself from global criticism.
By supporting diplomatic ties, especially with countries that depend on Saudi economic assistance or employment exports (such as Pakistan), the Kingdom is essentially purchasing silence. The nations are less inclined to denounce Saudi Arabia’s pervasive human rights abuses out of fear of risking political or economic aid.
Human Rights Violations: The Brutal Reality Behind the Glamour
Saudi Arabia’s attempt to host FIFA 2034 is not about football—it’s about reputation management. The Kingdom would rather everyone focus on its new stadiums and state-of-the-art infrastructure rather than its seriously problematic human rights record. These are just a few facts behind the PR curtain:
1. Executions and the Death Penalty:
Saudi Arabia has executed 172 individuals in 2023 alone, most for non-violent crimes. Public beheadings are also practiced as a form of punishment.
2 . Suppression of Dissent:
Activists, authors, and religious thinkers remain in jail for peaceful speech. Women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul was imprisoned and reportedly tortured for protesting for women’s right to drive.
Censorship and Surveillance:
The media and internet access are strictly controlled by the government. Dissent on the internet is followed by arrests. In one instance, Salma al-Shehab, a mother and a student, was imprisoned for 34 years for tweets in favor of women’s rights.
Migrant Worker Exploitation:
Similar to Qatar before the 2022 World Cup, Saudi Arabia also depends significantly on migrant workers who are subject to kafala (sponsorship) systems that open the door to exploitation, unpaid wages, passport seizures, and forced labor.
Facts notwithstanding, FIFA rewarded Saudi Arabia with the world’s largest football tournament at the expense of its own Human Rights Policy, taken up in 2017, which vows to respect and promote human rights in all of its activities.
FIFA’s Complicity: Profit Over Principles
FIFA has come increasingly to demonstrate its willingness to sell its principles for profit. Awarding the World Cup to Saudi Arabia unopposed—after Australia had pulled out of the bidding process—implies that a backroom deal was struck. One must wonder: What became of FIFA’s so-called human rights commitment?
- In 2021, FIFA entered into a multi-million-dollar sponsorship agreement with Aramco, the Saudi oil company.
- Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and FairSquare have continually cautioned FIFA against letting repressive governments use football to whitewash their reputations.
- Nevertheless, FIFA expedited Saudi Arabia’s bid and ignored its heinous human rights violations.
This is not the first time that FIFA has taken the side of autocracies. In 2018, Russia hosted the World Cup, and Qatar, a nation with an abysmal human rights record, hosted the 2022 World Cup. Saudi Arabia, it appears, is merely the next in this despicable chain.
The Global Response: Silence or Resistance?
So far, the international reaction has been subdued. Most governments, sporting organizations, and public figures have stayed quiet, not wanting to take on Saudi Arabia because of its economic power and geopolitical leverage. Civil society is beginning to stir.
- Human rights activists are already mobilizing boycott campaigns and bringing pressure on national football teams to boycott.
- Supporters from all over Europe and North America have complained about the tournament being used to support a dictatorship.
- In Germany, over 67% of the football supporters polled in 2024 indicated that they would back a boycott of the 2034 tournament if human rights concerns continue.
This movement needs to build up. Silence is complicity.
The Bigger Picture: Why Boycott Matters
A boycott is not just a protest—it is a moral position. Just as the world boycotted South Africa under apartheid, not normalizing Saudi Arabia’s regime sends a message: You cannot kill journalists, imprison women, oppress workers, and host the world’s most popular sport without someone paying a price. By boycotting Saudi 2034, we also:
Guard the integrity of sport, maintaining it independent of authoritarian influence.
Make the voice of victims heard behind Saudi borders.
Pressure FIFA into endorsing and maintaining higher human rights standards.
Impel reform, by making regimes realize that they cannot bribe their way out of critique with money and mega-events.
It’s Time to Draw the Line
Football belongs to the people—not the powerful. It is not to be used as a tool by oppressive regimes to rewrite their global image. Saudi Arabia may build stadiums, hire influencers, strengthen alliances with Kazakhstan and Pakistan, but nothing can be more effective in cleaning the blood from its hands.
We, the citizens of the world, the fans, and the players, have to say no to sportswashing. We have to say no to human rights hypocrisy. And we have to say no to Saudi Arabia hosting the FIFA World Cup 2034. Join the movement. Make a voice. Boycott Saudi 2034.