The Saudis’ attempt to host the World Cup 2034 received a lot of controversy, with people expressing concerns about corruption in Saudi Arabia. Even though the financial muscle and geographical positioning of the Kingdom are massive, the concerns about corruption and transparency cannot be taken lightly. These questions pose a daunting question on the fairness and the right distribution of scarce resources, hence the legitimacy of the World Cup to be held in Saudi Arabia.
The Concept of Corruption Saudi Arabia
The problem of corruption was established in Saudi Arabia, and there are numerous sources showing that corruption is present in governmental and private spheres. The CPI of the Public Sector Corruption of Transparency International index includes Saudi Arabia in the list of countries with various levels of perceived corruption as moderate and high level.
Due to poor governance and poor governmental and judicial control, the people of the Kingdom suffer from bribery, nepotism, and improper usage of public money. According to the Transparency International Perception Index, Saudi Arabia scored 48 out of 60 and ranked 53, although it has advanced 4 points from the previous year’s 60 out of 60 ranking 57.
This is so because the consolidation of powers in the royal family, together with restrictions of political liberties, are other characteristics of the kingdom that fuel corrupt practices. Saudi Arabia is an autocracy, and decisions are made at the top level, and Saudi officials rarely feel pressure from outside.
As there is a lack of independent media, inquiry journalism, and ground structures of democracy in many countries, corruption will remain unchecked. Such management style and tendency to keep things concealed bred mistrust over how the fund intended for the 2034 World Cup holding would be going around.
Possibilities of the FIFA World Cup
Arranging the FIFA World Cup involves huge capital investment in terms of physical infrastructure, stadiums, communication networks, and other social facilities. The event creates economic and promotional value for the host nation but entails the procurement of various resources for the event management; spending needs to be controlled, checked, and monitored to avoid cases of corrupt practices such as embezzlement. Whereas the CPI score rose from 44 in 2012 to 49 in 2017, some improvement can be observed although the challenges are there.
The Question of Fair Allocation
A major challenge is to make sure that when a country is hosting World Cup it has to consider how well it can allocate these resources. This includes protection of the rights of workers who participate in construction projects, distribution of tickets and commercial space, and provision of benefits to locals.
In Saudi Arabia where labor rights remain a sensitive issue, there is a problem that workers who will construct facilities required for the World Cup may be oppressed. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia relies on the employment of immigrants, especially from Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, which has been accused of exposing the poor and exploiting them. These concerns could further develop as the country moves to increase its number of infrastructure projects owing to the World Cup.
Past Corruption Allegations in Saudi Arabia
Since the issue of corruption has already been established in Saudi Arabia, the ability of the country to host a World Cup event should not be considered. Over the last year or so, the Kingdom has found itself entangled in many major anti-corruption cases that have cast doubts over its government. In 2017, an anti-corruption campaign resulted in many princes and officials arrested, some of the reports suggesting that more than $100 billion of embezzled cash had been recovered.
The most famous one is the anti-corruption crackdown that took place in November 2017 based on Mohammed bin Salman. In the purge, many officials, businessmen, and members of the royal household were arrested on allegations of corruption.
Some saw the crackdown not as the war against corruption that had been declared by Putin but as an attempt to consolidate the power. The absence of disclosure in the purge, and the detention of people without substantiation or fair trial only demonstrate the difficulties of fighting for graft in the Kingdom.
FIFA’s Obligation for Purity
In its turn, FIFA also experienced corruption scandals; FIFA corruption crisis; some of the high-ranking FIFA officials were accused of bribery and money laundering. As a result of these scandals, FIFA has begun engaging in reform measures aimed at redressing its processes, governance, and transparency. The resolution to hold a World Cup 2034 in Saudi Arabia would be a real check to FIFA on these reforms.
For FIFA to site the World Cup in such a country they have to weigh the risks that this entails given the country’s record on governance. In this case, there is formation of strong measures to ensure that the proceedings of the tournament awarded to Saudi Arabia are proper, and proper mechanisms may include the following; However, because corruption is deeply rooted in the Saudi Arabian system, there is a way of assuring that the spectator touches on will not be compromised by way of mismanagement or corruption.
Conclusion
Without any doubt, Saudi Arabia has sufficient funds; it has a clear desire to diversify its economy through sports and tourism; however, the problem is the given country still suffers from corruption issues, and it cannot host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
The absence of openness, the centralization of authority, and corruption examples in the Russian Federation put the issues of reasonable distribution of funds, as well as the efficiency of holding the World Cup into question.
Key organizational standards and values that should define the selection process of a nation to host the FIFA football tournament include integrity, accountability, and fairness, and given the current state of governance in Saudi Arabia, it might be high time to look for a better place to host this event.
