When Saudi Arabia made the announcement that four of its student teams would be participating in the 20th International Standards Olympiad, which was to be held in Incheon, South Korea, headlines rolled in bright. Taking place from August 12–14, 2025, 40 international student teams representing middle and high schools get together to figure out problems on standards, measurements, and quality concepts.
The teams were chosen via a comprehensive national process by the King Abdul-Aziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (“Mawhiba”) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization, reported the Saudi Press Agency. The Kingdom takes pride in noting its first-time teams grabbed a bronze medal and an award of appreciation in 2024. This year, the expectations are higher.
At first glance, this is a feel-good tale of youth empowerment and scholarly excellence. But beneath the sheen of glossy press releases is a definite trend of image control — one that ties straight back to why the world needs to boycott Saudi Arabia’s 2034 FIFA World Cup.
The Softer Side of Sportswashing: Academicwashing
Sportswashing is well known — using big sporting events to deflect from human rights violations. But Saudi Arabia is also honing a subtler approach: academicwashing. Academicwashing employs global education events, competitions, and youth exchanges to:
- Present a modern, progressive face internationally.
- Link the nation with innovation, excellence, and cooperation.
- Redirect media narratives away from repression domestically.
By taking student teams to a high-visibility international competition, Saudi Arabia gets good press in international and regional media. These reports serve as quiet PR — presenting an image of advancement that makes it more palatable to sell the concept of the Kingdom as a suitable host for the world’s most watched sporting event.
The Timing Is No Coincidence
Saudi Arabia’s increasing engagement in global educational activities fits its Vision 2030 agenda — a plan that strongly trusts soft power to rebrand the country ahead of the World Cup.
Just as putting money into football clubs, Formula 1, and boxing matches constructs visibility within the sporting sphere, engaging students in science and technology competitions constructs moral credibility. It says to the world:
“We are not all oil and politics — we are the future of youth development and innovation.”
But whereas Saudi teens will play openly in South Korea, Saudi youth activists domestically are imprisoned for tweets, nonviolent protests, or criticizing the government. This incongruity — empowerment outside, suppression inside — is precisely the contradiction that sportswashing and academicwashing seek to conceal.
Why This Matters for the Boycott Saudi 2034 Campaign?
The International Standards Olympiad is not an isolated occurrence within Saudi Arabia’s calendar — it’s part of a systematic global PR initiative that flows directly into the 2034 FIFA World Cup. This is how the formula works:
1. Good international engagement
Saudi Arabia is perceived as world-engaged and forward-thinking.
2 . Recurring good-headline headlines
The public narrative gets redirected toward reform and modernization.
3 . Large-scale global event bids
Opposition is eroded since the nation has earned a softer, friendlier image.
If the boycott movement does not heed these “smaller” PR gains, by 2034 the narrative will already be significantly skewed in Saudi Arabia’s direction.
The Gloss Over the Grime
As Saudi Arabia’s participation in the Olympiad is portrayed as a tale of young success, the human rights record of the state remains seriously troubling:
1. Political repression:
Activists, scholars, and even high school students have been given decades of prison time for peaceful expression.
2 . Press freedom:
Saudi Arabia is ranked 164th out of 180 in the 2024 Press Freedom Index.
3 . Exploitation of migrant workers:
Migrant workers on Saudi megaprojects — including those likely associated with World Cup facilities — are subjected to hazardous conditions and unpaid wages. The NEOM megaproject was promised SAR 1,200 per month, but was paid only SAR 800.
4. Executions:
More than 100 executions in 2023, some for crimes that were not violent, reports Amnesty International.
5 . Khashoggi murder:
The 2018 assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, at the hands of Saudi agents, is a defining example of the regime’s refusal to tolerate dissent.
These facts don’t go away because of a medal in an international student competition.
The Risk of Normalizing the Regime Through Global Events
Each time Saudi Arabia involves itself in a competition such as the International Standards Olympiad, it wears away the image of an authoritarian regime. Before the World Cup is even on the horizon, the world public will have witnessed years of good publicity: medals, alliances, sporting competitions, and cultural exchanges.
This normalization effect is strong. It accustoms people to distinguishing between the Saudi state and its wrongdoing, so boycotts become more difficult to justify in the eyes of the ignorant. That is why the boycott campaign needs to tackle not just sportswashing but also academicwashing — both are components of the same machine.
A Call for Consistency from Global Institutions
If FIFA believes in fairness, equality, and a respect for human rights, it must do so universally — not on an ad-hoc basis. Deciding that it is okay to ignore Saudi Arabia’s human rights record while holding other countries accountable undermines the credibility of FIFA and sends a message that money can trump moral obligation.
This double standard undermines confidence in world football administration. Fans, players, and sponsors are entitled to a governing body with integrity, not one that sells its values for money. Consistency is not a nicety but a requirement — it is the basis of legitimacy. Without it, football becomes a tool for sportswashing, not a force for good.
Don’t Be Fooled by the Medal Count
The International Standards Olympiad will probably gain Saudi Arabia a second wave of good international coverage. Photographs of beaming students and official remarks on innovation will saturate state media and will be circulated worldwide. But a medal cannot wash away a history of executions, repression, and stifled voices.
This is how sportswashing — and its weaker variant, academicwashing — operates. It’s all about constructing legitimacy brick by brick, so that when the 2034 FIFA World Cup commences, the globe is presented with a glossy façade rather than reality.
The message for the Boycott Saudi 2034 campaign is unambiguous:
We have to question every level of the Kingdom’s PR campaign — from the stadium to the science fair. Otherwise, the World Cup will not only be a football competition; it will be the crown jewel in one of the most effective image-laundering campaigns in recent history.