Saudi Arabia is back in the news, but this time not only for its football ambitions. Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index, the Tadawul All Share Index, jumped as much as 5% after reports indicated the Kingdom is poised to open public companies to majority foreign ownership, Bloomberg reports. This possible shift may draw in billions of dollars in investment, with JPMorgan estimating a capital inflow of $10.6 billion and EFG Hermes expecting about $10 billion. Major banks such as Al Rajhi Bank, Saudi National Bank, and Alinma Bank have the most to gain, with Al Rajhi alone possibly drawing in $5–6 billion.
Although this economic news can read like a symptom of economic modernization, it also reveals the Kingdom’s true strategy: using high-profile events and reforms to boost its international reputation and woo foreign capital while maintaining a disturbing track record on human rights and global obligations. Given Saudi Arabia, the 2034 FIFA World Cup perfectly fits this trend of economic opportunism.
Financial Benefits at the Expense of Ethical Leadership
The boom in Saudi stock markets is an indicator of a regime intent on luring foreign investment and stimulating economic indicators. By permitting 100% foreign ownership of shares, the Kingdom offers itself up as a profitable outlet for world capital. But the reality behind the statistics is less rosy. Concomitant with these fiscal reforms, Saudi Arabia remains under international fire for:
- Journalists, activists, and political opponents are consistently incarcerated. The kingdom’s repression of free speech is questioned with regard to the morality of hosting an international event such as the FIFA World Cup. In 2025, Saudi Arabia executed many people.
- Migrant workers experience poor conditions in building sites, such as stadiums and infrastructure for international events. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International reports indicate 850 cases of withheld wages, forced labor, and poor working conditions.
- Although there have been reforms, Saudi Arabian women continue to be subject to systemic discrimination in much of public life.
The link is evident: as the Kingdom is prepared to flex its economic rules to accommodate billions of foreign investments, it is looking to employ the use of the FIFA World Cup to legitimize its international image, covering up for continuing human rights violations.
The World Cup: An Instrument of Political and Economic Gain.
Hosting the FIFA World Cup is not a sporting activity—it is an economic and political one. Granting the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia could give the Kingdom billions of tourism, sponsorship, and foreign partnership dollars, analogous to the estimated flows from stock market reforms.
Experts have estimated that staging a World Cup can rake in tens of billions of dollars in sponsorship, broadcasting, and tourist revenues. For Saudi Arabia, this means an incredible chance to improve its international financial position at the same time as hiding local problems.
With the success of hosting an event viewed by millions globally, Saudi Arabia can cast itself in the light of modernity and openness. However, the truth is that most systemic problems—labor exploitation and abuses of human rights included—continue to be ignored.
Essentially, just like foreign investors are being attracted to financial reforms in the Saudi stock market, so too is FIFA being attracted by hoped-for profits and sponsorships, essentially turning the World Cup into a tool of reputation laundering.
Economic Opportunism Should Not Take Priority Over Human Rights.
The Tadawul index rise is a classic example of an ugly principle: Saudi Arabia is more interested in profit than ethics. The nation is happy to reshape financial policies to lure foreign capital, but not at all prepared to meet global standards of human rights.
The expected $10–20 billion influx of capital with the relaxation of foreign ownership restrictions is similar in nature to the kind of profit Saudi Arabia anticipates from welcoming international tournaments like the FIFA World Cup.
This leads to an urgent question: ought a nation with such a history of human rights violations be rewarded with a major international sporting event?
The Role of Global Stakeholders
Global stakeholders such as international organizations, sponsors, and fans of football have a moral obligation to think about the wider potential consequences of backing Saudi Arabia as a World Cup host. Participating or investing in Saudi Arabian events comes with the risk of:
- Directly financing a regime with a poor human rights record.
- Normalizing labor exploitation and systemic discrimination through sponsorships and partnerships.
- Diluting global ethical standards by giving greater emphasis to profit than to human dignity.
FIFA, sponsors, and supporters have to ask whether the offer of financial rewards made by Saudi Arabia—just as the inflows promised from stock market liberalization—can be taken to outweigh ethical considerations.
A Pattern of Opportunistic Behavior.
The stock market news is within a larger trend in Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy:
Financial incentives as leverage.
By opening up to foreign investment, Saudi Arabia is essentially selling off access to the economy while continuing restrictive social and political traditions.
Global events as image tools:
Organization of events such as the 2034 World Cup gives international legitimacy without creating the need for deep reform in local policies.
Short-term gain at the expense of long-term accountability:
The Kingdom focuses on short-term financial inflows, such as those brought about by an increase in foreign stock ownership limits, without considering long-term human rights responsibility.
Take a Stand: Say No to Saudi 2034 World Cup
Granting Saudi Arabia the right to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup is not just a sporting choice—it is a reflection of what the world holds important. The latest reports on foreign investment booms show that Saudi Arabia is concerned with profit and international legitimacy, usually at the cost of human rights and moral governance.
As supporters, organizations, and sponsors, we have a moral duty to make sure that international events such as the FIFA World Cup are not utilized by tyrannies to gain financial legitimacy while disregarding human dignity. The reports of the Tadawul index spike serve as a harsh reminder that the priorities of Saudi Arabia are profit over ethics.
Boycotting the Saudi 2034 World Cup is not merely a protest—it is a stand for human rights, justice, and accountability, a message to the world that money must never take precedence over morality.