We come to the final entry in our recent series on World Cup political footballs, as we head into the desert for Saudi Arabia 2034. The path laid clear for it thanks to- shock, horror- what some would call a bending of FIFA's rules to eliminate any competition, after Asia and Oceania were the only confederations allowed to bid. This following the announcement that the first three games at the 2030 World Cup would be played in South America to mark the centenary of the first ever World Cup in Uruguay, despite hosting rights being won by Spain, Morocco and Portugal.
It’s also now emerged that you know who, Gianni Infantino, was hugely influential in crowning the Saudis as hosts for four years on from that ever increasing list of bizarre decisions made on his watch, lessons clearly going unlearnt from Qatar in 2022..
The, frankly ludicrous, method of applauding as confirmation of support for your preferred bidder for both tournaments, if you happened to be a member of FIFA's congress, is perhaps the most unorthodox working from home story you'll ever hear. With Infantino instructing his colleagues to make sure their hands were raised sufficiently “near your head” for him to be able to see amidst references to apparent scrutineers, though how well they did their jobs, if indeed any were in remote attendance, is surely up for debate, especially given his apparent level of say in doing a deal in the desert.
As the Independent put it- “It is incredible that this was the show put on for a federation of such power and a decision of such importance, but here we are. Here is the modern game.
If it wasn’t for this unique strangeness, you might otherwise have said it was like a “tinpot dictatorship”, a phrase people in football use to describe what confederations such as Fifa and Uefa have become. Even the fact this took place online precluded the possibility of huddled chats in corridors. Some of the members of the Fifa Council – the confederation’s highest body – didn’t even attend.
This is something worth acknowledging. Before you even get to the actual questions about the hosts, they have only arisen because of what Fifa has become. Infantino’s centrality to the event reflected how he is a Fifa president who is effectively an executive president, at the top of a political structure that is unjustifiably inexplicable given the “power” he said football has.”
Of course, pending the outcome of an apparent investigation into his open embrace of Donald Trump and his policies at the 2026 World Cup draw, he may have been stripped of that oddly dictatorial power by the time 2034 comes along. That is if FIFA decides a mark has been definitively overstepped! But for now we can look further into more sickly cosying up to power disguised as footballing diplomacy.
Craig Foster, a former Australian player and part of an ultimately withdrawn joint rival bid alongside New Zealand (the other opposition attempt being a joint Association of Southeast Asian Nations), was probably closest to the truth in saying that-
"They've spent probably around a decade now starting to purchase influence… by placing government officials and royal family members on the boards of a vast number of global sporting bodies. Rather than an open bidding process where other bidders, which might have included Australia, have an equal opportunity to press their claim in a transparent manner… What Infantino has done is engineered the entire process to place Saudi Arabia in a position where they are the only reasonable candidate."
In light of which the applause rings a little hollow. There could be an even more shameless reason for his manoeuvring-
"The Middle East is a very large part of the Asian Football Confederation bloc, I would say the most powerful, and therefore that also delivers to Infantino a very important bloc of votes for his continued candidacy."
While the bid achieved the highest technical assessment score in the history of the World Cup itself- four point 2 out of a possible five, surely that cannot be based on anything but a very large backhander, given that eight of the fifteen stadiums to be used to host games haven't even yet been built, the same for Neom, an as yet unbuilt host city!
And human rights organisations like Amnesty International are just as up in arms now as they were for 2022.
"There are no meaningful commitments that will prevent workers from being exploited, residents from being evicted or activists from being arrested."
All of which adds a further blemish to what is intended as a centrepiece of Vision 2030- Saudi Arabia's ongoing attempt at modernisation. It's telling that the country's king, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, trumpets sport's potential as a cornerstone of its intended success...
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia believes in the importance of sport, its positive impact on lives and its effective role in strengthening ties among nations. Sport encourages communication between different cultures and forms bridges between societies across the world.
Through its Vision 2030, which attaches great importance to investment in the sport sector, the Kingdom is pleased to submit its bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2034. It will continue working with the international community to host this important sport event, which contributes to developing the game of football worldwide.
Through its people’s determination and spirit, the Kingdom has succeeded in consolidating its position as one of the most prominent international sports destinations. We are confident that the Kingdom’s strengths and capabilities, alongside the international community’s cooperation and efforts, will contribute to achieving our mutual goals. By working together, we will create a bright and remarkable future for the sport of football, and pass on a positive legacy that will extend beyond 2034.”
Except it hasn't quite worked out like that, a brief flirtation with Roberto Mancini in the dugout not working out and Hervé Renard, who led them to quite an upset in beating Argentina 2-1 to hand the eventual champions their sole defeat at the 2022 World Cup, was put back in charge. Despite the Green Falcons then qualifying for this past summer’s edition, Renard was sacked, back in April, before the 2026 tournament began.
His replacement, and still in charge at the time of writing, is Gerogios Donis- a Greek who has had a nomadic career and managed various Saudi Arabian clubs in the past five years. Whoever’s in charge in eight years time, the Saudis will hope to make more of a go of it in 2034, in light of their country's elevated position, perhaps thanks to a little help from a conveniently placed friend?