Canberra, Australia

The Australian football players union has slammed the international football governing body FIFA after it awarded 2034 Men’s FIFA World Cup hosting rights to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday (Dec 11). The decision to award Saudi Arabia the hosting rights did not go well with the players union citing significant human rights are at risk. After Qatar, Saudi Arabia will be the second West Asian nation to host the men’s FIFA World Cup with the former hosting the showpiece in 2022 December.

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Australian players union slams FIFA

"The significant human rights risks linked to this tournament are well-documented," Beau Busch, Professional Footballers Australia head said in a statement emailed to Reuters on Thursday.

"By securing hosting rights to the global game’s most prestigious event, Saudi Arabia and FIFA must ensure the rights of everyone affected by the 2034 Men’s World Cup are upheld and safeguarded.

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"However, FIFA’s ongoing governance failures and lack of accountability to its own human rights commitments leave no assurance that harm can or will be prevented."

Saudi Arabia has been accused by the Australian Association of human rights abuses while LGBT activists have also showcased their anger after the FIFA World Cup rights were awarded. In the build-up to the meeting and before awarding of rights, migrant workers groups and trade unions had also raised concerns over Saudi Arabia.

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On the football side of things, another Men’s World Cup in West Asia will result in significant fixture changes to football’s annual calendar. Like Qatar, Saudi will most probably host the World Cup in November-December, differing from the usual international break of June-July. This would result in fixture congestion in build-up and post-tournament.

The club fixture calendar will also take a significant hit with the season likely to start in late July or early August, before ending in late May or early June.  

(With inputs from agencies)