FIFA Under Fire For Awarding 2034 World Cup To Anti-Gay Saudi Arabia

FIFA has been heavily scrutinised by human rights organisations and LGBTQI+ football fans alike following their decision to host the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, a country notorious for its anti-gay laws.

The move has been sharply criticised by human rights organisations, with a joint statement by 21 organisations shared on Amnesty International’s website calling FIFA’s human rights policies a sham. The selection of Saudi Arabia was also criticised as they were effectively made the only country left to bid, despite Australia’s previous willingness to do so. 

The statement reads: “FIFA has long accepted that it has a clear responsibility, in line with international human rights standards, to prevent and mitigate human rights violations and abuses connected to its activities, as well as to provide remedy for those to which it has contributed. By pursuing today’s decision regardless of the known risks, FIFA will bear a heavy responsibility for much of what follows.”

In Saudi Arabia, homosexual activity can be punished with the death penalty and laws forbidding ‘crossdressing’ completely outlaws trans identities, too. The country’s general human rights track record is also extremely poor, with a history of poor women’s rights, migrant exploitation and suppression of individual expression. 

The decision is sure to spark controversy similar to that of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a country where LGBTQI+ people are also oppressed. In that period, queer rights activist Peter Tatchell was arrested for protesting Qatar’s draconian law, and calls came from gay players like Josh Cavallo for FIFA to reconsider allowing World Cups to take place in countries with poor rights records. 

Despite the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia featuring a staggering amount of gay players in the tournament, FIFA has continuously refused to allow LGBTQI+ expression at their tournaments. 

Ahead of last year’s WWC, the organisation banned players from wearing rainbow pride armbands, and in 2022 a Socceroos fan attending a World Cup game in Qatar was denied entry after a rainbow flag was found in their bag. 

Despite FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s suggestion that the 2034 World Cup could be a “unique catalyst for positive social change and unity,” such sentiment rings hollow when the 2022 World Cup seemingly did little for LGBTQI+ rights in Qatar.