If Ronaldo Won't, Who Will Take a Stand Against Saudi Arabia's Human Rights Record?

When global soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo this week tweeted, “Congratulations to all my friends in Saudi, I know how proud you all are today and I am sure @Saudi2034 will be historic” it was hard not to wince.

The Portuguese icon’s celebration of the announcement that Saudi Arabia would host the 2034 men’s World Cup was hardly a surprise. In 2023 he signed a whopping $200 million-per-year deal with Saudi club Al Nassr FC. At the time, Amnesty International implored Ronaldo to take a stand on human rights, but to no avail. Instead, he soaked up Saudi cash and even enjoyed the opening of a “CR7 Signature Museum” at the garish Boulevard World tourist development in Riyadh.

Fast forward to Wednesday when FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, handed Saudi Arabia its crown-jewel tournament, the men’s World Cup. FIFA President Gianni Infantino declared, “The 2034 FIFA World Cup…will be a spectacular event. What Saudi Arabia has put forward in their bid is absolutely incredible.”

If by “incredible” Infantino meant lacking credibility, he was right. Ahead of the vote, FIFA changed its rules to make voting on the 2030 and 2034 men’s World Cups a package deal where vote-splitting was not allowed. There was no debate ahead of the vote, which was held over Zoom. Voting members made their preference known via a simple raising of their hands; their images could be seen on a panel of tiny Zoom boxes behind Infantino as he opened up an envelope with a card bearing Saudi Arabia’s name. It was a sham vote brazenly sprayed around the world.

Not only does sport create a space where [the Saudi crown prince] can plunge surplus capital derived from oil revenues, but it is a tremendous vehicle for pro-Saudi propaganda, even capable of drowning out the sound of a bone-saw.

Moreover, handing the tournament to Saudi Arabia cues up a torrent of terrible tidings that clash mightily with FIFA’s stated commitment to human rights. According to Minky Worden, the director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, “FIFA is willfully blind to the country’s human rights record, setting up a decade of potentially horrific human rights abuses preparing for the 2034 World Cup.” This view is co-signed by a slew of human-rights organizations. Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s head of labor rights and sport, noted, “FIFA’s evaluation of Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid is an astonishing whitewash of the country’s atrocious human rights record.” He added, “Fundamental human rights reforms are urgently required in Saudi Arabia, or the 2034 World Cup will be inevitably tarnished by exploitation, discrimination and repression.”

FIFA’s move to choose Saudi Arabia to host the 2034 World Cup is an apex moment for sportswashing: when political leaders use sports to legitimize themselves on the global stage while stoking nationalism and diverting attention from human rights woes at home. This was a brash sportwash executed out in the open for all to see. But the announcement also helps advance authoritarianism at a moment of rising autocracy across the globe. In fact, FIFA itself is sliding deeper into an autocracy, regularly ignoring its own guiding principles and increasingly resembling the very authoritarian governments with whom it collaborates.

Let’s be clear: sportwashing is an equal opportunity exploiter. The United States is just as capable of carrying out sportswashing as Saudi Arabia. For instance, to secure the 2028 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti vowed to Seth Meyers on late-night television, “I’m confident by the time the Olympics come, we can end homelessness on the streets of L.A.” Meanwhile, homelessness continues to ravage human lives in LA, a humanitarian crisis in plain sight.

In fact, we can expect an onslaught of sportswashing in the US in the coming years. After all, FIFA President Gianni Infantino openly adores recently re-elected President Donald Trump. Infantino wasted no time congratulating Trump on his electoral victory, even before the Electoral College votes were in, posting on Instagram, “We will have a great FIFA World Cup and a great FIFA Club World Cup in the United States of America!” Infantino shared six photos of himself and Trump, a montage of sycophancy. More recently he cozied up to Trump and Elon Musk at the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

Let’s be clear: sportwashing is an equal opportunity exploiter. The United States is just as capable of carrying out sportswashing as Saudi Arabia.

Infantino caused a media kerfuffle in 2022 when, at the opening match of the Qatar World Cup, he was nabbed on camera chuckling it up with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The Crown Prince has placed sport at the center of his global charm offensive. Not only does sport create a space where he can plunge surplus capital derived from oil revenues, but it is a tremendous vehicle for pro-Saudi propaganda, even capable of drowning out the sound of a bone-saw.

Research carried out by investigative journalist Karim Zidan and Stanis Elsborg of the Danish group Play the Game documented Saudi Arabia’s enormous—and ever-growing—sport footprint. Their exhaustive research report, “Saudi Arabia’s Grip on World Sports,” catalogs more than 900 sponsorships and 1,400 strategic positions that comprise the juggernaut of influence that Saudi Arabia has conjured to sportswash its global image. MBS is a man with a plan, and that plan involves sport.

And Mohammed bin Salman has made it clear that he has no qualms about sportswashing, stating directly on Fox News that he will “continue doing sport washing” regardless of public pushback. He “doesn’t care” about accusations of sportswashing. What other countries deign to deny, he openly welcomes. President Joe Biden’s notorious “bloody fist bump see around the world” only greased the path.

But not everyone is standing idly by. In October, a group of more than 100 prominent women’s soccer players wrote a letter to FIFA, denouncing the group for its sponsorship deal with Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian oil firm. Describing the agreement as a “middle finger to women’s soccer,” the athletes raised concerns over gross human-rights violations, singling out anti-LGBTQ and anti-women practices in the country. CBC columnist Shireen Ahmed wrote, “There is no doubt that FIFA's connection deserves to be challenged and it is no surprise that women are leading the way.”

Now it’s time for the biggest stars of men’s soccer to follow their lead. Cristiano Ronaldo might be a lost cause, but it’s not too late to take a stand for what’s right. It’s not an exaggeration to say that lives are on the line.