The Cup of the Dead
The 2034 FIFA World Cup was awarded to Saudi Arabia just few hours ago. This will be the official starting point of 10 years of abuses and shame.
This afternoon, during a ceremony by acclamation, FIFA gave to Saudi Arabia its long awaited World Cup. This is the obvious landing of a process started in December 2017, just one year after Gianni Infantino became FIFA president, when he met King Salman and the Crown Prince Mohammad to discuss cooperation between his organization and the Riyadh monarchy. In the following years, Saudi Arabia conquered the world of football through the power of money: in 2018 hosted its first Italian Supercup; in 2020 it was the moment of the Spanish Supercup; in 2021 the rich state fund PIF acquired Newcastle UFC in the Premier League; in 2023 Saudi clubs started to build a local championship full of international led by Cristiano Ronaldo, and in the same year the country hosted the Club World Cup. In 2027, Asian Cup will take place in Saudi Arabia, preparing the way for the 2034 tournament, in the same way the 2019 edition of the cup did for Qatar 2022.
This is not just about sports and economic power, but human rights: FIFA and all the national football federations of the world know very well what is the situation in Saudi Arabia. In the moment they clapped their hands to support the 2034 bid, they implicitly endorsed the bloodshed of the migrant workers. They know it because we all witnessed what happened in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, and they know it because journalists and NGO already informed us about the abuses in Saudi Arabia.
In March 2024, Pete Pattisson wrote on The Guardian that more of 4 Bangladeshis a day died in 2022 alone in Saudi Arabia (the total number in that year was 1.502), and between 2008 and 2022 the Bangladeshi government stated that 13.685 of its citizens died in the Arab country. Bangladeshis are one the most represented nationalities in the underworld of the migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. Pattisson wrote again about their situation on Daily Mail, in a on-field report published in November: migrant workers of the Aramco Stadium’s construction sites in Al Khobar have to endure 10-hour shifts under extreme heat payed less than 2€ per hour. They live in squallid overcrowded rooms and they have also to work for free the first two years in the country, just to repay the rogue agents who gave them the job. Last month ITUC-Africa, the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation, denounced the “the relentless cycle of abuse and exploitation” of all the African workers in Saudi Arabia, “including wage theft, forced labour, unsafe working conditions and egregious violations of their dignity and rights under the Kafala system”.
This situation can only get worse from here on out, bacause of the 2034 World Cup assignment. The human rights scenario comprehends also violations against the rights of women and LGBTQ+ community, and against the freedom of speech. Saudi Arabia still adopts the death penalty, and under Mohammad bin Salman rule the rate of death sentences almost doubles: more than 200 people was killed by the Saudi government during this year, reaching the highest execution toll in decades according to Amnesty International.
So, there is no secret that the world of football is endorsing (again) one of the bloodiest regimes on the Earth. Almost no one opposed the World Cup process, with the exceptions of the Norwegian FA - who had already criticized Qatar 2022 - and of more than 100 women professional footballers. It’s not that much, but more than nothing. Starting from today we have 10 years to talk, investigate, denounce and inform about what is going on in Saudi Arabia around the World Cup. In Qatar, two years ago, fans started to call a boycott just a short time before the event: if there is a moment to begin to oppose the 2034 World Cup have to be now.
My name is Valerio Moggia, I’m an Italian sports journalist focused on football, politics and human rights. I was one of the few journalists in Italy to address the controversies around the Qatar World Cup, but it wasn’t enough and it was too late. In The Beautiful Shame I will try to tell you the main news about Saudi Arabia 2034, collecting the most interesting works written on this topic around the world. 10 years is a long ride, so I hope to keep this commitment until the end. You can support this project by subscribing and - if you really like it - by becoming a paying supporter.
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