FIFA granted the Saudi Arabian Kingdom hosting rights for the 2034 World Cup despite international criticism of the Kingdom’s continued human rights violations, authoritarianism, and diplomatic leveraging of international forums to whitewash its image—a corruption tactic called “sportswashing.”
Saudi Arabia’s new batch of economic alliances—Bashar al-Assad’s Syria included—is revealing the Kingdom’s true agenda: regional dominance, restoring dictatorships, and spreading its economic influence at the expense of democratic principles. These are not compatible with FIFA’s commitment to human rights and fair play. Rather, they are yet another reason why the 2034 FIFA World Cup should not be held on Saudi Arabian soil.
Saudi-Syrian Investment Partnership: A Political Alliance in the Guise of Economic Development
A high-level virtual meeting between Saudi Arabia and Syria was held on June 5, 2025, to further strengthen their investment partnership. According to the Saudi Press Agency, during the meeting, the two parties focused on drafting a cross-border investment deal that will be used to fund the rebuilding of Syria. On the surface, this appears to be an act of humanitarianship. Things are not what they seem, however.
Syria, still reeling from more than a decade of civil war, is still governed by a transitional government closely aligned with the Assad regime. The Assad regime has been greatly accused of committing war crimes such as the use of chemical weapons on civilians and the mass torture of prisoners. Saudi attempts to rebuild Syria are not motivated by a feeling of moral obligation but by the need to gain political influence and economic interests in the Levant.
The Hypocrisy of Vision 2030: Reform in Words, Repression in Practice
Saudi Arabia sells Vision 2030 as a broad blueprint for social and economic transformation. But while it invests abroad on an ever greater scale and hosts international conferences, within it is ferociously repressive. Dissent is criminalized, rights for women are severely curtailed, and freedom of the press is nonexistent. The assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives in 2018 is a gruesome illustration of the regime’s refusal to tolerate criticism.
The Kingdom’s policy in Syria is not about building a shattered nation—it’s only about acquiring control of strategic regional arteries and revalidating the global legitimacy of the Assad regime. The exact opposite of FIFA’s claimed mission of promoting peace, justice, and inclusion through sport.
Sportswashing Through International Investment and Diplomacy
The latest Saudi-Syria talks are all part of a wider effort on the part of the Kingdom to leverage its immense wealth and growing network of investments in an effort to spruce up its global reputation. Saudi ministers are globe-trotting, signing memoranda of understanding with Spain and Pakistan, and making monetary commitments at forums such as the World Government Summit.
This is traditional sportswashing. Saudi economic diplomacy and spectacle festivals—such as its bid to host the 2034 World Cup—are being used to distract from its structural violations. The Kingdom is not transforming. It’s just buying the illusion of reform.
Syria: A Partner in Oppression, Not Peace
Saudi Arabia’s alliance with Syria is especially irreversible in the wake of FIFA’s history. Russia, despite its human rights violations and annexation of Crimea, was politically permitted to host the 2018 World Cup. The world has now witnessed the effect of legalizing the absolute powers at an international level.
Syria is not free or stable today with the transitional government. Saudi political and financial backing can serve to ensure that fact even further. If FIFA wants to hold on to the ideas of peace and justice, it cannot remain oblivious to the fact that Saudi Arabia is backing and lending legitimacy to one of the most repressive regimes of the 21st century.
Hosting the World Cup Means Global Scrutiny—Is Saudi Arabia Ready?
Millions of sportspeople, supporters, journalists, and human rights observers from civil society will pour into Saudi Arabia in 2034 should the World Cup move ahead as planned. Will Saudi prisons be thrown open to visitation? Will gay fans be allowed to come out without repression? Will protest placards be acceptable? All historical precedent suggests otherwise.
The Kingdom is unfriendly to plain freedoms. Homosexuality is illegal. Women are still in need of male sponsorship for the majority of their lives. Public demonstrations are banned. Saudi Arabia is not yet prepared for the openness and diversity that a world phenomenon such as the World Cup requires.
A Call to Action: Boycott, Ban, and Reconsider FIFA’s Ethics
Saudi Arabia’s hosting bid for the 2034 World Cup needs to be shut down. It’s not a question of sporting justice—it’s a question of world ethics. Its gradual drift towards further alignment with the repressive regimes of the likes of Syria is a strategy of enabling repression by means of money and diplomacy over the longer term. FIFA needs to be called to book on its prioritization of money over morals.
This is what needs to be done:
- FIFA should strip Saudi Arabia of the 2034 hosting rights and conduct an open re-examination of the bidding process.
- Fans, players, and football associations need to protest against this ruling and call for the tournament to be hosted in a country that upholds human rights.
- Human rights groups and civil society organizations need to unite internationally and reveal the truth regarding Saudi Arabia’s sportswashing program.
Football Deserves Better
The World Cup is not a competition—it is a celebration of humanity, culture, and freedom. To let it be held in a nation that supports autocracy, stifles dissent, and uses economic power to whitewash abuses is an insult to all that football stands for. Saudi Arabia, whose recent investment deal with Syria comes on the back of its global expansion policy, has proven that it is not fit to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
It is time the world rose—not merely for soccer, but for freedom, justice, and honor. Boycott Saudi Arabia being given the World Cup. The beautiful game shouldn’t be used to make despotism beautiful.