As Saudi Arabia gears up to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, the world is watching another reprehensible display of the Kingdom’s lack of respect for ethics — this time for luxury and entertainment. In recent times, three falcons — two Mongolian and one Saudi — were auctioned at the International Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition in Riyadh for a staggering SR428,000 ($114,000). This spectacle, although seemingly harmless and long-standing, reveals an unsettling trend: Saudi Arabia keeps using wildlife, human rights, and international affairs to clean up its international reputation through “sportswashing.”
The Falcon Auction – A Glimpse into Exploitation
The show, a festive cultural spectacle, showcased Mongolian falcons that were auctioned for huge amounts of money — one young bird for SR90,000, a mature falcon for SR78,000, and a Saudi homebird for SR260,000. Wealthy buyers clamored to flaunt power and status at the show.
But under the sparkle of the auction is a brutal reality — these falcons are part of an exploitative trade chain that commercializes wildlife and creates ecological imbalance. Falcons are hunted, smuggled over international borders, and coerced into captivity for money and prestige.
Based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a number of falcon species are threatened by population diminishment from illegal trapping and trade. Mongolia, one of the last remaining areas with large numbers of falcons, has been faced with wildlife smuggling for consumption by Gulf states, with Saudi Arabia being the main consumer. The Saudi falconry industry, worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year, is an example of where money takes precedence over wildlife conservation.
From Falcons to Football: The Same Sportswashing Pattern
The auction of the falcons is not an isolated incident — it represents a wider Saudi approach. As it treats birds as commodities for prestige, the Kingdom commodifies global sporting occasions to whitewash its own reputation and deflect from its abysmal human rights record. That it is bidding to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup is part of this masterplan.
Saudi Arabia’s deep sports investment — from Premier League club Newcastle United ownership to hosting Formula 1 races, boxing bouts, and now the World Cup bid — is not the product of serious sporting enthusiasm. It is a calculated political exercise intended to hide repression, muffle dissent, and accrue soft power.
Human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have long warned that awarding the Kingdom the right to host the World Cup practically rewards a regime with a record of executions, censorship, gender oppression, and the brutal murder in 2018 of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Environmental Hypocrisy: The Kingdom’s Dual Face
The Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition presents itself as a celebration of heritage and respect for the environment. The reality is quite otherwise. Falcons are brought thousands of miles from Mongolia to Saudi Arabia — and in the process, they are subjected to stress, injury, or death.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia boasts some of the world’s highest per capita carbon emissions, emitting more than 16.5 metric tons of CO₂ per capita every year, says the World Bank. In spite of its self-proclaimed “green initiatives,” it continues to be among the top 10 oil producers in the world, with fossil fuel exports accounting for more than 70% of government revenues.
The irony here is obvious: the same nation selling exotic birds in the name of tradition and making “sustainability goals” is about to spend more than $300 billion on building stadiums and infrastructure for the 2034 World Cup — developments that will automatically leave a huge environmental trail.
How does FIFA, an entity that professes to champion sustainability and ethics, justify awarding hosting rights to a country so firmly rooted in environmental degradation and exploitation of wildlife?
The Human Rights Reality Behind the Glamour
As falcons are auctioned in glass cages, there are thousands of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia suffering in poor conditions, trapped by the Kafala system that binds their work to domestic sponsors. The workers are frequently underpaid, overworked, and deprived of basic human rights.
The Guardian and Amnesty International reports indicate that thousands of migrant construction workers who constructed infrastructure for the 2022 Qatar World Cup have died. All reasons are there to suggest that Saudi Arabia’s 2034 preparations will replicate the same, considering the poor labor laws and corrupt nature of the country.
In addition, Saudi Arabian women remain severely constrained in their rights despite the rhetoric of reform. Freedom of expression continues to be tightly regulated, with journalists, activists, and critics consistently imprisoned or executed. The death penalty, even for nonviolent offenses, was inflicted on over 170 individuals in 2023 alone, one of the highest recorded rates in the world.
Sportswashing: A Moral Red Line for the Global Community
Saudi Arabia’s hosting of international sporting events is not in the spirit of unity or love of the game — it is about expunging its history of oppression from the minds of the world. By linking itself to internationally popular events such as the FIFA World Cup, the Kingdom desires legitimacy it does not deserve.
The trend is obvious: as the world observes players competing, Saudi Arabia wishes us to forget about the journalists muted, the women jailed for driving, dissidents who were put to death, and the wars fought in Yemen.
FIFA, which does well to profess integrity, sportsmanship, and neutrality, cannot go on keeping its eyes closed. Allowing Saudi Arabia to host the 2034 World Cup is tantamount to supporting tyranny and condoning cruelty.
As football supporters, human rights campaigners, and world citizens, we have to be one voice in our resounding no to Saudi sportswashing.
The Global Backlash and Call for Accountability
The global backlash against Saudi sports initiatives is already underway. Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, and many fan groups across Europe have called for a boycott of the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
Even in FIFA, some of its officials and national associations have been concerned regarding the transparency of Saudi Arabia’s acquisition of the sole bid for the tournament. It is criticized that the quick approval of the bid is a repeat of corruption scandals in FIFA back in the 2018 and 2022 bidding cycles.
Meanwhile, environmentalists and wildlife groups are calling for an investigation of the Mongolian falcon trade by the international community, labeling it as a metaphor of how Saudi Arabia uses animals and world events to gain politically.
The Falcon Auction and the World Cup bid are two extremes of the same coin — both symbolize wealth devoid of ethics, power without empathy, and image without character.