Saudi Arabia dominated the GCC debt market during the first half of 2025, issuing an enormous $47.93 billion in 71 bond and sukuk issuances, representing 52.1% of all Gulf Cooperation Council debt activity. On its face, this can be seen as a reflection of the strength and ambition of the Kingdom. But behind the sky-high figures is a chilling truth: a regime leveraging debt, sport, and PR to whitewash its international reputation as it presses on with its systematic repression, censorship, and abuse of basic rights.
Having been a firm supporter of exclusion of Saudi Arabia from hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup, I would argue that this surge in economic influence is only a part of an orchestrated sportswashing campaign—a strategy to deflect global attention from the Kingdom’s troubling human rights track record and autocratic inclinations.
The Debt Market Surge: A Financial Smoke Screen
Saudi Arabia dominated the GCC debt market by tapping almost $48 billion in debt instruments within six months, as per the Kuwait Financial Center (Markaz). It also made $1.34 billion in sukuk issuance in July alone. These numbers are humongous, particularly given that the total GCC issuances throughout the period totaled $92.04 billion. Saudi Arabia’s financial presence continues to grow, with more than $168 billion in Saudi bonds due between 2025 and 2029.
But money power cannot be equated with moral authority. Debt does not translate into democracy. Sukuk does not mean social justice. The economic development of the Kingdom is being utilized to cover up some of the worst human rights abuses of our era.
Human Rights Abuses: The Reality FIFA Wants to Ignore
Saudi Arabia boasts one of the world’s most oppressive human rights records. Even with its flashy investment projects and increasing economic power, freedom of speech, assembly, religion, and press are virtually absent.
Some hard truths that the world—and FIFA—cannot afford to ignore:
- Freedom House assigns Saudi Arabia 1/100 score for political rights and civil liberties in its report for 2024, classifying it as “Not Free.”
- Based on Reporters Without Borders (2024), Saudi Arabia is ranked 170 among 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index.
- The Kingdom carried out 172 executions in 2023, as reported by Human Rights Watch, including for non-violent drug offenses and so-called terrorism—many of which did not have guarantees of a fair trial.
- Loujain al-Hathloul, a women’s rights activist, was incarcerated for 1,001 days for merely campaigning on the right to drive—a right which was not given to Saudi women until 2018.
FIFA professes to uphold human rights and inclusion. How can it justify that with giving the World Cup to a nation which publicly executes its own citizens?
Sportswashing at a Global Scale
Organising the FIFA World Cup is a golden chance for countries to demonstrate progress. For Saudi Arabia, it’s a calculated diversion from despotism. Billions are being invested by the government not only in infrastructure, but also in reputation management.
The Kingdom has:
- Invested more than $2 billion in LIV Golf to unsettle old sports leagues.
- Acquired Newcastle United Football Club via its Public Investment Fund.
- Planned to construct 11 stadiums for the 2034 World Cup, at a cost reportedly greater than $10 billion.
Modern Slavery and Labor Abuses
We shouldn’t forget what transpired in Qatar 2022, where more than 6,500 migrant workers allegedly died during the preparation for the tournament (according to The Guardian). Saudi Arabia will most probably follow the same suit—or worse.
- According to Migrant-Rights.org, migrant workers in Saudi Arabia often face non-payment of wages, passport confiscation, and inhumane living conditions.
- The country still enforces the Kafala (sponsorship) system, which ties workers to their employers and severely restricts their movement, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.
Digital Repression and Surveillance
Saudi Arabia’s oppression is now no longer limited to the physical world — it has spread online.
- In 2023 the Kingdom jailed Salma al-Shehab, who was a PhD student, for 27 years for retweeting tweets in support of women’s rights.
- Saudi Arabia, according to Citizen Lab, has employed Pegasus spyware to spy on dissidents and journalists internationally.
- The 2007 Cybercrime Law, in a catch-all manner, criminalizes “the creation of something that damages public order,” resulting in wholesale arrests for nothing more than social media postings.
A FIFA World Cup Funded on Borrowed Money and Shattered Ethics
The latest financial statistics have shown that 32 transactions in excess of $1 billion were floated by Saudi Arabia in H1 2025, and over $73.1 billion worth of US dollar-denominated bonds were floated in the GCC. However, the most important question remains: What is all this money financing?
Gigantic projects such as:
- NEOM, a $500 billion smart city, which involved the violent forced displacement of the Howeitat tribe.
- Gigantic stadiums that will take tens of thousands of low-paid foreign laborers to finish under adverse conditions.
FIFA’s Hypocrisy and Accountability
FIFA professes to uphold the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, but goes on rewarding autocratic governments with hosting rights. It dismissed concerns over Qatar 2022 and is set to do the same with Saudi Arabia in 2034.
In 2023, FIFA released a Human Rights Policy, pledging to respect all internationally recognized human rights. Yet with the awarding of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, it goes against its own policy.
Debt-Fueled Dictatorship Should Not Host the World’s Game
Saudi Arabia’s $47.9 billion in debt issuances is not an indication of preparation to host the world’s biggest sporting event — it’s an alarm bell. These monies are not empowering people, advancing freedoms, or enriching society. They are used to distract, deflect, and dismantle global scrutiny.
The international community has to call on FIFA to reconsider. Organizing the FIFA World Cup is an honor kept for countries which respect the principles of justice, equality, and human dignity — principles which Saudi Arabia continues to crush beneath the heels of despotism.