Reuters
Published: September 25, 2024 10:59 AM IST
The 2034 edition will be a 48-team affair. File photo: Reuters
Hammad Albalawi, head of Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid unit, said his country welcomes all visitors, including LGBTQ people and their bid to host the 48-team showpiece event has nothing to do with ‘sportswashing’ their human rights record.
Global governing body FIFA limited the 2034 contest to bidders from the Asian and Oceania confederations as Morocco, Portugal and Spain will share the hosting of the 2030 tournament.
The hosts are set to be officially appointed at the FIFA Congress on December 11 and Saudi Arabia’s bid is almost certain to succeed due to the absence of any other expressions of interest before FIFA’s deadline late last year.
“You will be respected,” Albalawi told Sky Sports when asked about LGBTQ fans visiting his country. “You will be welcome in Saudi Arabia as that respect and welcome is to everyone from all around the world.
“We respect the privacy of all of our guests. We have seen millions of guests come to Saudi Arabia in the last few years. We’ve hosted over a hundred sporting events attended by more than three million fans who have enjoyed their experience.
“People need to educate themselves about the Kingdom and the best way to do that is to come and visit. They will find hospitable Saudis. We would love to receive all of our guests.”
In May 2023, Saudi’s government-run tourism website said in a statement under general information for LGBT visitors, “We ask that visitors respect our culture and traditions and follow our laws as they would when visiting any other country in the world.”
“Like other governments around the world, visitors are not required to disclose their personal information and we will respect visitors right to privacy.”
The Saudis have invested heavily in high-profile sports such as soccer, Formula One, boxing and golf over the last few years, leading critics, including Amnesty International, to accuse the oil-rich kingdom of “sportswashing” its human rights record.
Albalawi denied accusations of sportswashing and reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to Vision 2030 while speaking with both local and international media.
“We’re not doing this to make a headline, we’re doing this for our people,” Albalawi said. “We are investing to make sure that Saudis live longer and happier lives and that’s something that we’re very proud of.”
Vision 2030, launched in 2016, led by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the driving force behind recent reforms, aims is to diversify the country’s oil-reliant economy by boosting tourism and enhancing urban life through cultural and heritage events and sports.
“If sportswashing is going to increase my GDP by one per cent, then we’ll continue sportswashing,” Mohammed bin Salman said in an interview with Fox News last year.
