Saudi Arabia has made the headlines again, not for reform, advance, or leadership in global sport, but for cheating on the very foundation of its economic model: oil. On 9 September 2025, Riyadh cut the price of its benchmark Arab Light crude for Asia by slashing the premium to $2.20 per barrel over the Dubai/Oman benchmark for October delivery. This is a decline of $1 a barrel, far more than analysts were hoping for in a range of $0.40 to $0.70. Other Saudi oil prices fell in the range of $0.90 to $1 per barrel.
On the surface, this looks like nothing more than another turn in the energy market. But read together, these steps reveal a lot about Saudi Arabia’s fragile economic positioning, overdependence on oil, and its policy of buying international influence through gigantic events like the FIFA World Cup 2034. For those of us who are campaigning for Saudi Arabia to be excluded from hosting the FIFA World Cup, the news presents yet another straightforward reason why the world must resist Riyadh’s attempt to employ sport as a whitewash for underlying economic and human rights deficiencies.
Oil Cuts Expose Saudi Arabia’s Vulnerability
It is a cut of vulnerability, and not strength, that Saudi Arabia is undertaking. Traders indicate that the cuts are based on weaker demand in Asia, mainly China—the kingdom’s key customer. Bloomberg cites that total oil prices have remained resolute, which indicates that Saudi Arabia’s move is a desperate attempt at securing buyers, not one driven by market requirements.
Why is this pertinent in the context of the World Cup? Because Saudi Arabia is using oil riches as the foundation for its Vision 2030 project and to fund massive sportswashing initiatives. The kingdom has spent billions on world football, golf, boxing, and even video games, as part of an effort to remake its international image. But if oil demand is at its peak—oh dear, if it is declining—then this extravaganza of consumption must come to an end.
China’s Mixed Demand: A Warning to Riyadh
The world’s biggest oil buyer, China, is sending out mixed signals. It raised crude imports in previous months to build up supplies, but specialists underline that the spike is artificial and not influenced by actual demand. In fact, forecasts say China will peak in oil demand by 2027, with growth already slowing. A state think tank predicts demand this year will rise by just 100,000 barrels per day, and that electric vehicles alone will displace some 580,000 barrels per day.
Saudi Arabia is caught: the very market it relies on most is walking away from oil. Rather than face this economic reality with real reform, Riyadh leans into image-making initiatives like the 2034 FIFA World Cup bid. The irony is biting—on the one hand, Saudi Arabia realizes it must diversify its economy; on the other, it clings to oil dependency and attempts to recreate itself using football.
Such hypocrisy cannot go unnoticed. Football fans and world citizens need to ask the question: how does FIFA reward a nation that is neither economically sound nor morally accountable?
Sportswashing and the Oil Economy
The oil cuts tell us something crucial: Saudi Arabia cannot stand to lose the initiative in its global narrative. Every cut in oil prices cuts into revenues that fund its massive image-overhaul machinery. From the LIV Golf merger to Premier League club shareholdings, and now the upcoming World Cup, sports are the kingdom’s first choice tool of distraction.
But when the petrodollar riches begin to wobble, so does the legitimacy of these campaigns. All that remains is a desperate regime attempting to buy respectability on the sport’s most sacred stage—the FIFA World Cup. This has nothing to do with love for the game. This is about defending authoritarianism, silencing human rights abuse, and covering up economic vulnerability.
Why Oil Cuts Link to FIFA 2034 Opposition
Critics of Saudi Arabia’s hosting bid for the FIFA World Cup usually focus on human rights abuses: muzzling opposition, abuses against foreign workers, and confinement of women and minorities. All are valid and urgent concerns. But the oil price cuts now add an economic element to the mix.
- Economic instability: Saudi Arabia’s reliance on volatile oil prices makes it an unreliable host for a global tournament that requires long-term stability.
- Propaganda expenditures: World Cup hosting is not about football development, but about offsetting lost oil prestige with soft power.
- Responsible funding: Shifting oil revenues raise the question—how will Saudi Arabia responsibly pay for a $100+ billion mega-event without compromising its citizens’ welfare?
- Distraction politics: Oil crisis lays bare Vision 2030 weakness. Hosting the World Cup will be a pretext for failure to reform.
By connecting the dots, it’s clear: oil cuts are not just numbers on an economic chart; they are proof that Saudi Arabia’s 2034 goals are built on shaky foundations.
Football Cannot Be a Shelter for Authoritarianism
The main lesson of Saudi Arabia’s oil games is that the kingdom sees international sport as belonging to its survival kit. Awarding itself the right to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup would allow it to project power, deflect attention from declining oil revenues, and justify its record of repression. Football must not be a cover for authoritarianism.
We should not forget that the World Cup is not just a contest; it is a unifier, a sign of culture and joy. Awarding it to Saudi Arabia undermines such ideals. While oil price reductions deceive Riyadh’s precarious hold on its economy, awarding the World Cup to them would deceive FIFA’s precarious hold on fairness, equality, and openness.
Ban Saudi Arabia from FIFA World Cup 2034
Saudi Arabia’s oil price cuts are not single market actions. They are a reflection of underlying structural weaknesses—economic vulnerability, over-reliance on oil, and reliance on publicity gimmicks like the FIFA World Cup to mask reality. For all of us who are demonstrating in order to stop Saudi Arabia from hosting FIFA 2034, this is the moment to act.