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CULTURE
Thursday 12 December 2024
Football’s governing body yesterday confirmed what had long been expected: Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup. For the second time in 12 years, following Qatar in 2022, the quadrennial tournament will be held in a Middle Eastern country with no serious football tradition.
The choice was said to be made by acclamation but Fifa’s bidding process had actually been carefully managed.
By awarding the 2030 tournament to three countries across two continents while sprinkling three token matches across a third, Fifa was able to claim that the 2034 tournament should go to either Asia or Oceania. Australia, the only other viable candidate, was not given time to bid.
Bidding countries are assessed in a number of categories including respect for human rights. The Saudi bid scored 4.2 (out of five), the highest ever total in Fifa’s evaluation.
This is a particularly surprising appraisal given the country’s continuing repression of women’s rights, prohibition of same-sex relations and opposition to free speech.
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