As part of their campaign to host the World Cup in 2034, Saudi Arabia’s vice-minister of sport commended Qatar for hosting the event last year and stated that his nation wants to experience it firsthand.
After FIFA, the governing body of soccer in the world, requested applications from Asia and Oceania earlier this month and set a deadline of October 31, Saudi Arabia is now vying to host the championship.
Despite tense diplomatic ties between the two governments in recent years, Qatar was the first Middle Eastern nation to host the World Cup in November and December of last year. Saudi Arabia’s vice minister of sport, Bader Alkadi, praised the host nation.
“Like how glad we feel because we defeated Argentina at the World Cup, or like the pride you experienced in the UK when you held the Olympics. At the Leaders sports conference in London, Alkadi stated, “And Qatar… we’re happy with what other nations have done to produce a wonderful World Cup.
Without a doubt, we want to enjoy this at home. And we want to ensure that we build our nation to host such events to a high degree.
Alkadi said that fans had a unique experience in Qatar, where alcohol was not offered in stadiums, a decision taken a week before the event started.
“And that’s something honestly we applaud our colleagues and Qatar for, for going through and definitely proving that it is a possibility (and it) is something that we would want to repeat,” he said.
He didn’t say whether it meant they would let the sale of alcohol in hotels and fan zones, as in Qatar. In Saudi Arabia, alcohol is not allowed.
Some accuse the nation of “sportswashing” in response to harsh criticism of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
Saudi Arabia disputes allegations of violating human rights and claims its laws safeguard national security.
Last month, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stated that he does not worry about “sportswashing” claims and will continue to support sport if it increases the nation’s GDP.
Alkadi reiterated the crown prince’s remarks, claiming that the substantial investment in sports was made to enhance the quality of life for Saudi citizens.
Before the crown prince replied, that would have been a challenging question (sportswashing). It’s no longer challenging. Consequently, we always put our fans first in all we do in sports, Alkadi said.
“And the numbers speak for themselves in terms of the growth in mass participation in terms of the focus on elite athletes.”
