World Cup Saudi Arabia 2034 – Now players and teammates must defend themselves.

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FIFA wants to award the 2034 World Cup hosting rights to Saudi Arabia, which is unfair. Everything points to a repeat of the events leading up to and during the World Cup in Qatar. But those who could stop it remain silent.

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In less than a month, the awards for the 2030 and 2034 World Championships will be handed out. At the virtual congress, FIFA members decided on the host – decided being the important word. Because there is only one application to vote on December 11th.

First up are the joint candidates of Spain, Portugal and Morocco, in which Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will play one game each. The 2030 event marks the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup, with hosts Uruguay beating Argentina in the final. Then Saudi Arabia is the only candidate for the 2034 World Cup.

Unjust countries have no competition, partly due to a clever move by FIFA president Gianni Infantino to combine the two 2030 World Cup bids, thus awarding the tournament to six countries on three continents. Australia, on the other hand, decided not to contest – also because the deadline set by FIFA was announced at short notice. The Saudi team, on the other hand, was already in its infancy and was able to meet the deadline without any problems.

From this point of view, Saudi Arabia, which hosts major sports events, signs superstars like Ronaldo, and pays attention to image polishing (keyword “sports shuffle”), is almost certain to become the venue for the 2034 World Cup. Especially a year ago, Gianni Infantino had personally announced the World Championships via Instagram.

But that hasn't officially happened yet. Twelve years after the World Cup in Qatar, it is still possible to prevent the World Cup from being held again in a country where human rights are abused.

But there is almost no voice of resistance in football circles. No players commented specifically on this. No coach defended himself. No association has asked FIFA to reconsider. Two years ago, they still had excuses for not taking any action – especially on the players side – for the World Cup in Qatar.

In an interview with CH Media, Natty star Manuel Akanji made it clear that he is opposed to the idea of ​​hosting major events in the desert state. “For me, it doesn't make sense to host the World Cup in Qatar,” the then 27-year-old said. But the team doesn’t pick the venue. He therefore ruled out the possibility of a boycott: “We should intervene as soon as the 2010 World Cup is awarded.”

Today's Germany captain Joshua Kimmich made a similar statement: “I think our boycott is twelve years too late.” The country's discontent was already well known before the award. “It is important to think in advance what requirements the applying country must meet,” Kimmich said.

The German team, with its hand-to-mouth gesture and its jerseys emblazoned with the words “Human Rights”, is one of the few teams that has set an example in advance. There was harsh criticism from home that the players put political issues ahead of sport, and the criticism intensified after the qualifying exit. At this point, it seems that players no longer want to take such risks. Kimmich said: “In general, we players should support certain things, values ​​and human rights. But it is often not our job to express our views politically. We have experts in the country for this.”

The German responded to the “One Love” bandage ban with a mouth-to-mouth gesture.Image: Getty Images Europe

The 29-year-old also said that the team, the association and the German team as a whole “did not project a good image” in Qatar, and he therefore abdicated his duties. Akanji, who is currently absent from the national team due to injury, his teammates, coaches and the Swiss Football Association have heard almost no important news. FIFA only really cares about the protagonists. However, it seems naive to blame sponsors for this. But without the players, there would be no tournament. Now, during the last international break before the FIFA Congress, there's no better time to get involved.

To this end, Amnesty International published a letter this week calling on the world governing body to halt the process of awarding the right to host the 2034 World Cup. “The grant to Saudi Arabia will come with real and foreseeable human costs. Fans will be discriminated against, residents will be forcibly evicted, guest workers will be exploited, and many will die,” said Shi Shi, head of the nonprofit's labor law and sports division. Steve Cockburn writes.

Everything that went wrong at the World Cup in Qatar is likely to happen again. Workers will die again. Members of the LGBTQ+ community who want to support their national teams at the World Cup will once again be very afraid of traveling to the host country and may face discrimination there. No one would want this.

Because then sports will take a temporary back seat once again. Preliminary reports before the game will again document numerous human rights violations. The difference is that this time the excuse of hoping to improve in these areas through the World Cup is no longer valid. Because such expectations proved completely wrong in Qatar.

The public will once again ask themselves how a World Cup could be hosted for such a country. The answer will again be that FIFA has been too powerful and greedy for too long and has long since lost any values.

But the only thing that can stop this happening right now is staying silent.