Saudi World Cup sportswashing claims ‘very shallow’, sports minister says
BBC – Saudi Arabia’s sports minister says claims of ‘sportswashing’ against the country are “very shallow”, as he defended its right to host the men’s football World Cup.
Speaking to the BBC in Jeddah, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said: “A lot of the people that accuse us of that haven’t been to Saudi, or seen what we are doing.”
Critics say unprecedented spending on sport has been used to improve the oil-producing kingdom’s reputation over its human rights record and its environmental impact.
But the Saudi government insists the investment is boosting the economy, opening it up to tourism and inspiring people to be more active.
Saudi Arabia has invested around £5bn in sports since 2021, when the country’s Crown Prince made it a key part of his strategy to diversify the economy, with a host of major sporting events brought to the kingdom, including high-profile boxing and Formula 1.
The country’s Public Investment Fund has also launched the breakaway LIV golf series, taken control of four Saudi Pro League clubs and purchased Newcastle United.
But campaigners claim this vast state investment into sport is being used to distract from long-standing reputation issues such as Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and the war in Yemen – a process known as ‘sportswashing’.
“Twenty millions of our population are below the age of 30, so we need to get them engaged – we are playing our role to develop sports within the world and to be part of the international community,” Prince Abdulaziz said.
When asked if his country would be a suitable host of the 2034 World Cup, he added: “We’ve showcased that – we’ve hosted more than 85 global events and we’ve delivered on the highest level. We want to attract the world through sports. Hopefully, by 2034, people will have an extraordinary World Cup.”
FIFA has been urged to secure commitments to improving human rights before formally confirming a Saudi World Cup next year. According to FIFA guidelines, countries bidding to host the event must commit to respect human rights.
“Any country has room for improvement, no-one’s perfect. We acknowledge that and these events help us reform to a better future for everyone” claimed Prince Abdulaziz.
It is widely expected that the 2034 tournament will be in winter to avoid the country’s extreme summer temperatures, as with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
But Prince Abdulaziz said organisers were “definitely studying” whether it could be staged in summer.
“Why not see what the possibilities are to do it in the summer? Whether it is summer or winter it doesn’t matter for us, as long as we make sure that we [deliver] the right atmosphere to host such an event,” he said.
Saudi Arabia is already building three new stadia for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, but must have 14 venues with capacities of 40,000 or more for the World Cup.
In October, human rights group Amnesty raised concerns over the treatment of migrant workers in the kingdom.
When asked if there could be similar issues to the controversy that dogged the Qatar World Cup over workers’ rights, Prince Abdulaziz said: “I assure you it’s not going to be repeated.
“We have 10 years to work on that, we already started in a lot of the venues, so we have a long time to do it in the right time, in the right process… We’re already developing infrastructure… so we are not required to build a lot more to host such an event.”