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You might not know what you’re doing next week… or even tomorrow. But FIFA already has its plans for the year 2034. News came out on Wednesday that soccer’s grandest stage, the World Cup, will be held in Saudi Arabia a decade from now.
There are always headlines when a country gets the honor of hosting the World Cup, but this particular announcement has incited some, namely human rights activists.
It wasn’t that long ago I wrote a story on VICE about Coca-Cola being called out for greenwashing. In that same breath, Saudi Arabia is being targeted for sportswashing, or using the world of sports to put up a facade on all of their issues.
Lately, the country has taken extreme measures in inserting itself into the sporting landscape, from landing top soccer athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo into their own league to even buying a Premier League team. All of these moves, with the World Cup serving as the cherry on the top, have human rights groups fuming.
There are a lot of issues within the country’s borders, from women’s rights to their views on the LGBTQ+ community. Despite this, the country has leaned into its sports image far too much to cover up its issues, according to various activists.
A report on Human Rights Watch spotlighted the issue that migrant workers have in the country, and that by bringing in the World Cup, there is going to be an immense amount of strain placed on these workers to build and complete projects at the complex before the 2034 games begin.
“The reality of widespread, extensively documented migrant rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, the government’s apparent unwillingness to implement meaningful and effective migrant labor protections, and hundreds of billions of dollars in planned, time-sensitive construction projects that could expose migrant workers to dangerous conditions is a perfect storm that could lead to the 2034 FIFA World Cup and other planned giga-projects becoming major human rights catastrophes,” the report concluded.
FIFA didn’t specifically address the concerns in its press release, but it did point out how the Cup is an event that brings people together despite any divides.
World Cup president Gianni Infantino referred to the event as “tournaments to unite, not to divide.”
“They are tournaments, of course, to discuss, to debate, and to act,” he continued. “But most importantly, today, today is a day of unity and a day of celebration.”
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