How Saudi Arabia won the 2034 World Cup – 11/07/2023 – Sports

The choice of Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 World Cup, confirmed last week, is the result of vigorous lobbying, with building relationships as a fundamental part. With potential rival Australia withdrawing, the oil-rich Gulf kingdom emerged as the sole candidate.

The country saw its path smoothed by an abrupt set of changes in the FIFA (International Football Federation) bidding process. In practice, the entity chaired by Gianni Infantino ensured an unopposed candidacy.

For critics, the measures that helped pave the way for Riyadh represent a return to old ways at football’s governing body, with transparency, accountability and ethical concerns obliterated by backroom deals with cutthroat commercial interests.

With the return of the tournament to the Gulf, concerns expressed by human rights groups that dominated the build-up to last year’s World Cup in Qatar have also been revived.

Infantino, who this year was elected to a third term as FIFA president after running unopposed, has cultivated ties with Saudi Arabia for some time — attending events with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and even appearing in a tourism video Saudi.

Under Infantino, FIFA’s revenues have soared, expected to increase significantly in the coming years. The Qatar World Cup generated US$6.3 billion (R$30.66 billion, at current prices) for the organization, which has more than US$4 billion (R$19.47 billion) in reserves.

As the only candidate for 2034, Saudi Arabia will not face a competitive vote when it is subject to approval at FIFA’s congress next year.

The decisions that practically took Saudi Arabia to the 2034 tournament were revealed after a video conference between the 37 members of the FIFA Council on October 4, chaired by Infantino. The agenda included the item: “4.7: Bidding processes and hosting of the FIFA World Cup”.

Conference call participants received documents outlining plans for 2030 and 2034 that were drawn up at FIFA headquarters, according to people familiar with the matter.

Shortly after the call, FIFA unexpectedly announced that the 2030 World Cup had been awarded to a joint, unopposed bid from Spain, Portugal and Morocco, while South America would also host three games to mark the centenary of the first World Cup. Mundo, held in Uruguay.

As a result of the 2030 tournament being awarded to six countries on three continents, Europe, Africa and South America immediately joined North America on the list of regions unable to compete for the 2034 World Cup. and Mexico will host the 2026 competition.

FIFA then revealed a deadline of just over three weeks for nations from Asia and Oceania to present expressions of interest for 2034. A few minutes after the unexpected announcement, Saudi Arabia confirmed its intention to compete, quickly gaining the support of more 125 of FIFA’s 211 members.

Australia, the only other country that had expressed an interest in hosting the 48-team tournament, was caught off guard and confirmed its decision not to mount a challenge before the October 31 deadline.

“We have to be realistic. Saudi Arabia is a strong bet, they have a lot of resources,” Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said. “Their government is prioritizing investment in football, and it’s difficult to compete with that.”

Victor Montagliani, FIFA vice-president and head of Concacaf, the football federation for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, defended the decision-making process, saying it was a reflection of a more “strategic” approach to manage the organization’s main revenues.

“In the corporate world, you don’t ask shareholders to vote on these decisions. It’s the board,” he told the Sports Unlocked podcast.

The widespread support for Riyadh’s plan is linked to its frantic campaign to expand its presence in the game. Dozens of memorandums of understanding have been signed in recent months between the Saudi Football Federation and its counterparts around the world, while entities in the kingdom have invested money in sponsorship deals.

Several Saudi Pro League clubs, flush with cash from the country’s sovereign wealth fund, spent more than US$900 million (R$4.38 billion) on new players over the summer, according to audit firm Deloitte. Stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema now play for Saudi clubs.

A report released by Play the Game, an initiative managed by the Danish Institute of Sports Studies, showed that Saudi sponsors now have more than 300 sports agreements, 84 of which are in football. In October, tourism entity Visit Saudi closed commercial agreements with the Asian and African football confederations and with the Spanish LaLiga.

“They managed to show FIFA and its president that Saudi Arabia is here to stay in football,” said Stanis Elsborg, senior analyst at Play the Game. “They’ve been very good at working the corridors of power.”

Critics say the changes to the World Cup bidding process are a sign of a step backwards in reforms to improve transparency and accountability following FIFA’s 2015 corruption scandal, which resulted in a review of its rulebook, dismissal of his leadership and the elevation of Infantino to the highest position.

FIFA defended itself: “Since the conclusion of investigations into the previous regime, President Infantino has transformed FIFA from a toxic institution into a respected, trustworthy and modern governing body.”

Infantino said all decisions relating to the bidding process were made “by consensus” and after “broad consultation”.

Miguel Maduro, FIFA’s former ethics chief, said that while football’s governing body was once prone to corruption, the current sponsorship system relies instead on “legitimate” methods of using money and favors to build networks of power and influence.

“Instead of giving $20,000 in an envelope to the head of a football federation to buy your vote, you can now sponsor a league’s activity or football competition,” he said. “It’s cool and much more effective.”