That sounded completely different…
DFB wants to evaluate controversial Saudi application “seriously”.
November 1, 2023, 7:48 p.m
FIFA is heading into the next “human rights disaster,” says Human Rights Watch. The de facto awarding of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia is leading to intense discussions. The FIFA boss doesn’t care, he’s celebrating his coup. The DFB reacts cautiously.
Gianni Infantino is celebrating, Saudi Arabia is thinking about a Winter World Cup – and human rights activists are making clear demands. The discussions about the likely awarding of the 2034 World Cup to the controversial desert state continue to gain momentum after the deadline for expressions of interest has ended. The final award is still pending, but there are already calls for a clear stance from the German Football Association.
When asked, the DFB emphasized that it would “now wait for the Saudi association’s official application to be submitted” in order to be able to evaluate it seriously and appropriately. This must be received by FIFA by July; after an evaluation, the Congress with the 211 member associations is expected to vote at the end of next year. The reluctance now expressed does not fit in with what DFB boss Bernd Neuendorf said around a year ago: He described a future award to countries like Qatar as “difficult to imagine”. The DFB is in the middle of the election campaign for the 2027 Women’s World Cup – and is looking for supporters. The host is scheduled to be appointed by the FIFA Congress on May 17, 2024.
Wenzel Michalski is already taking the DFB to task. The association must “start working, roll up its sleeves and put pressure on FIFA,” demanded the Germany director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) in an interview: “That’s what they have to do, but I don’t see that they do that.”
“This is how football becomes truly global!”
In any case, the cards have been on the table since Tuesday. The 2030 tournament will probably take place in six countries on three continents, four years later only Saudi Arabia is an option – and FIFA boss Infantino left little doubt in a statement on Tuesday that it would be awarded to the kingdom. “The Greatest Show on Earth will be hosted in North America by Canada, Mexico and the United States in 2026. The next two editions will be held in Africa (Morocco) and Europe (Portugal and Spain) – with three festivals in South America (Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay ) – in 2030 and in Asia (Saudi Arabia) in 2034,” the Swiss wrote on Instagram: “Three editions, five continents and ten countries involved in hosting the tournament – this is how football becomes truly global! “
The applications were accepted by the FIFA Council “by consensus after a constructive dialogue and extensive consultations,” Infantino continued, underlining the power of the game. “We live in an increasingly divided and aggressive world and show once again that football, the world’s leading sport, unites like nothing else.”
We have eleven years “in which sustainable concepts can be developed based on the experiences from Qatar,” said Philip Krämer (The Greens), deputy chairman of the sports committee in the Bundestag, and there is a need for “ecological and social goals that Saudi Arabia can meet must be committed”. The DFB, represented on the council by President Bernd Neuendorf, also had to “position itself here at the FIFA meetings”. FIFA, on the other hand, should “make it clear how it expects the hosts to comply with their human rights policy,” said Steve Cockburn of Amnesty International. And: The association must be prepared to “stop the application process if serious human rights risks are not credibly addressed.” “Clear and binding commitments” are needed.
“Of course we are ready for all possibilities”
In the midst of these discussions, Saudi Arabia, which has attracted stars to its own league with horrendous sums of money and has been investing in international sport for years, is pushing ahead with planning – for a Winter World Cup? “Of course we are ready for all possibilities,” said the head of the Saudi association Yasser al-Misehal to the AFP news agency with a view to a possible relocation. After the World Cup was postponed for the first time until the winter of 2022 in Qatar, the heat in Saudi Arabia will also play a role in the preparations. In parts of the country, temperatures can reach up to 50 degrees in summer. But there are also “many new technologies that help with cooling or installing air conditioning in the stadiums,” said al-Misehal.
The discussions about the period, but also about the situation of migrant workers, women, minorities and dissidents continue. From Michalski’s point of view, FIFA is “heading into the next human rights disaster” and Saudi Arabia is “worse than Qatar in many respects.” But: “As long as the World Cup is celebrated like this and receives so much support,” he said, “FIFA will simply see no reason to change anything.”