I plan to be at every tournament for the foreseeable and will happily go to Saudi and judge the experience for myself rather than what we’re told by those sitting at home 👍
Will you be judging what it's like to be tortured? Let us know how that goes
I’ll be going as a football fan with an open mind. Served me well in Qatar, as it did however many other hundreds of thousands of people who did the same.
The only saving grace is that once they've had it, alongside Qatar, the list of places with oil money, in a position to host the world cup, is shorter. UAE will try, and maybe Bahrain and Kuwait, but they have even less places to build stadiums than Qatar did.
UAE have no chance right now. Their biggest stadium capacity is just shy of 45k and they only have 3 stadiums that hold more than the minimum 40k FIFA require for group stage games.
They could of course build a bunch of completely new ones like Qatar did and Saudi will do, but Qatar allegedly spent $220 billion and god knows how much Saudi will spend. I'm not sure the UAE will be interested in doing that.
The only saving grace is that once they've had it, alongside Qatar, the list of places with oil money, in a position to host the world cup, is shorter. UAE will try, and maybe Bahrain and Kuwait, but they have even less places to build stadiums than Qatar did.
UAE have no chance right now. Their biggest stadium capacity is just shy of 45k and they only have 3 stadiums that hold more than the minimum 40k FIFA require for group stage games.
They could of course build a bunch of completely new ones like Qatar did and Saudi will do, but Qatar allegedly spent $220 billion and god knows how much Saudi will spend. I'm not sure the UAE will be interested in doing that.
Qatar have already shown that isn't an issue. Just like human rights violations aren't an issue to thousands of open minded fans.
I plan to be at every tournament for the foreseeable and will happily go to Saudi and judge the experience for myself rather than what we’re told by those sitting at home 👍
Will you be judging what it's like to be tortured? Let us know how that goes
I’ll be going as a football fan with an open mind. Served me well in Qatar, as it did however many other hundreds of thousands of people who did the same.
Nice try though.
An open mind about what? Torture and human rights violations? Those things are 100% happening in Saudi Arabia, if you wanna go then I have no judgements but it's not about having an open mind, it's about not caring about these things
I plan to be at every tournament for the foreseeable and will happily go to Saudi and judge the experience for myself rather than what we’re told by those sitting at home 👍
Will you be judging what it's like to be tortured? Let us know how that goes
I’ll be going as a football fan with an open mind. Served me well in Qatar, as it did however many other hundreds of thousands of people who did the same.
Nice try though.
An open mind about what? Torture and human rights violations? Those things are 100% happening in Saudi Arabia, if you wanna go then I have no judgements but it's not about having an open mind, it's about not caring about these things
An open mind about going to watch football in a part of the world I’ve not experienced.
I don’t agree with the way a lot of things are politically in America at the moment. Does that mean I should have a guilty conscience for going there in 2026 with the sole purpose of watching football and cheering on my team?
That said, at no point have I actually commented on the politics of Saudi Arabia or declared that “don’t care” about those things. You’ve assumed that all because I said I’d go there to watch football….
I plan to be at every tournament for the foreseeable and will happily go to Saudi and judge the experience for myself rather than what we’re told by those sitting at home 👍
Will you be judging what it's like to be tortured? Let us know how that goes
I’ll be going as a football fan with an open mind. Served me well in Qatar, as it did however many other hundreds of thousands of people who did the same.
Nice try though.
An open mind about what? Torture and human rights violations? Those things are 100% happening in Saudi Arabia, if you wanna go then I have no judgements but it's not about having an open mind, it's about not caring about these things
But for those (like cafctom) who just want to go and watch football it'll likely be a great tournament. The stadiums are going to be brand new and some of the best in the world, and of course it'll be extremely safe.
Just like in Qatar, you won't get the typical dickheads traveling out there and those that do go will be too scared to cause any trouble. You had fans from tons of countries all mixing together pre and post-match which created a good atmosphere and i'm sure in Saudi it will be the same.
Qatar is quite a different environment from Saudi. Much more western influence. It's been a long time (mid 90's) since I was last in Riyadh (Saudi Aramco business trip) but it wasn't a particularly comfortable environment and zero alcohol tolerated (suspect that is still the case) - so those wanting a few social occasions will find it very dry. That's in addition to the fact that the Saudi intolerance to LGBTQ and human rights should have been a no-no from the outset. Money talks and seems, sadly, to override everything.
Qatar is quite a different environment from Saudi. Much more western influence. It's been a long time (mid 90's) since I was last in Riyadh (Saudi Aramco business trip) but it wasn't a particularly comfortable environment and zero alcohol tolerated (suspect that is still the case) - so those wanting a few social occasions will find it very dry. That's in addition to the fact that the Saudi intolerance to LGBTQ and human rights should have been a no-no from the outset. Money talks and seems, sadly, to override everything.
There's no way Saudi will be dry by 2034. They're currently working on a major drive to boost tourism by 2030 and they won't do that to any great level of success without selling alcohol.
I'd imagine by 2034 you'll be able to get it in hotel bars and restaurants but that like Qatar, it won't be on sale at the stadiums.
Qatar is quite a different environment from Saudi. Much more western influence. It's been a long time (mid 90's) since I was last in Riyadh (Saudi Aramco business trip) but it wasn't a particularly comfortable environment and zero alcohol tolerated (suspect that is still the case) - so those wanting a few social occasions will find it very dry. That's in addition to the fact that the Saudi intolerance to LGBTQ and human rights should have been a no-no from the outset. Money talks and seems, sadly, to override everything.
There's no way Saudi will be dry by 2034. They're currently working on a major drive to boost tourism by 2030 and they won't do that to any great level of success without selling alcohol.
I'd imagine by 2034 you'll be able to get it in hotel bars and restaurants but that like Qatar, it won't be on sale at the stadiums.
I like how the "respect other country's way of life" mantra still ends up with them having to change their way of life to suit the west on something trivial like alcohol,whereas the bigger issues don't seem to be a major problem!
Really need UEFA and CONMEBOL to team up and either set up a rival cup somehow, or just outright boycott the World Cup.
I thought that might what they were planning with the finalissima being the first step.
Their plan was to join the Nations League from both confederations into one, but not sure where that stands currently.
Either way, I don’t see how anything would ever rival the World Cup. The history and lineage of that tournament will always put it first.
Fans also generally aren’t too receptive to change or ‘new ideas’. Just look at how a lot of people talk about the Nations League or the Club World Cup. Or the Super League for that matter!
Qatar is quite a different environment from Saudi. Much more western influence. It's been a long time (mid 90's) since I was last in Riyadh (Saudi Aramco business trip) but it wasn't a particularly comfortable environment and zero alcohol tolerated (suspect that is still the case) - so those wanting a few social occasions will find it very dry. That's in addition to the fact that the Saudi intolerance to LGBTQ and human rights should have been a no-no from the outset. Money talks and seems, sadly, to override everything.
This won’t sit well with some but Saudi has improved in many ways since MBS took the reins. The mutawa has been largely sidelined and is in decline, and the dress code has been relaxed. As mentioned above, they will be serving alcohol in the new resorts well before 2034 because if they don’t, they are severely limiting their market. It could be argued that this is the result of the soft power attached to football, and general western culture.
MBS is clearly still capable of great evil, and I certainly wouldn’t want to make my life in Saudi, and I feel they should demonstrate significant change before receiving the blessing of a World Cup but it’s also a very different place now to when I started going as recently as the 2010s.
@cafctom you clearly don’t, and you shouldn’t be made to feel any guilt for wanting to follow England anywhere. Enjoy it.
Qatar is quite a different environment from Saudi. Much more western influence. It's been a long time (mid 90's) since I was last in Riyadh (Saudi Aramco business trip) but it wasn't a particularly comfortable environment and zero alcohol tolerated (suspect that is still the case) - so those wanting a few social occasions will find it very dry. That's in addition to the fact that the Saudi intolerance to LGBTQ and human rights should have been a no-no from the outset. Money talks and seems, sadly, to override everything.
This won’t sit well with some but Saudi has improved in many ways since MBS took the reins. The mutawa has been largely sidelined and is in decline, and the dress code has been relaxed. As mentioned above, they will be serving alcohol in the new resorts well before 2034 because if they don’t, they are severely limiting their market. It could be argued that this is the result of the soft power attached to football, and general western culture.
MBS is clearly still capable of great evil, and I certainly wouldn’t want to make my life in Saudi, and I feel they should demonstrate significant change before receiving the blessing of a World Cup but it’s also a very different place now to when I started going as recently as the 2010s.
@cafctom you clearly don’t, and you shouldn’t be made to feel any guilt for wanting to follow England anywhere. Enjoy it.
Still brutally murders journalists and treat immigrant workers abhorrently though. I agree that there has been some change and that’s good but it’s only been done to seem palatable to the western world.
A big issue with this WC and the one in Qatar is that the people who make it possible by building the infrastructure are poorly treated and Fifa is in effect endorsing those actions.
I understand that everyone at the top of football is morally bankrupt to some degree but bending over backwards for the oil money of Saudi, Qatar and the UAE is particularly nauseating and that’s before you even take into consideration the climate implications.
Should add that I don’t judge anyone for wanting to go this or the Qatar WC. Those tickets are going to be bought regardless and the money doesn’t matter to the hosts anyway.
If we politicized our lifestyle choices, we’d all be sat at home, consuming and doing nothing. It’s inescapable in this day an age. If the same lot that had bought Newcastle decided they wanted to waste their money on Charlton, it wouldn’t stop me going
I am not dismissing their human rights record, nor their zero tolerance policy for homosexuality, but as much as this is a power play and sports washing on their behalf, the WC is for the thousands of fans that just want to go and watch football.
One thing that I found a tad irritating re; Qatar, was the likes of Alex Scott being very vocal against their approach to homosexuality, but still reporting and working out there. If you’re going to go down that route (which is absolutely justified), then don’t undermine yourself when it comes to being paid. I do feel that it’s quite hypocritical to criticize but also take the money
Sitting in doors watching 3-4 games indoors in the middle of winter wasn't so bad (Qatar), Even the Mrs didn't mind when it's cold/wet out....different story in the middle of summer so not that bothered if it's going to be another winter WC.
I wasn't bothered that it was in the winter, as you say sitting in watching multiple games when it was cold out was fine, but it was the lack of one in the summer that was annoying. Usually we’re used to a tournament every other summer but this means another summer without one.
Sitting in doors watching 3-4 games indoors in the middle of winter wasn't so bad (Qatar), Even the Mrs didn't mind when it's cold/wet out....different story in the middle of summer so not that bothered if it's going to be another winter WC.
I wasn't bothered that it was in the winter, as you say sitting in watching multiple games when it was cold out was fine, but it was the lack of one in the summer that was annoying. Usually we’re used to a tournament every other summer but this means another summer without one.
Love all the anti KSA chat, while we as a nation are and have been involved in all sorts that's lead to the deaths millions of others over the years.
Better to have one blind eye than two. Although a lot of posters who object to Saudi do object to our foreign policy as well so you're being a tad harsh IMO.
If we politicized our lifestyle choices, we’d all be sat at home, consuming and doing nothing. It’s inescapable in this day an age. If the same lot that had bought Newcastle decided they wanted to waste their money on Charlton, it wouldn’t stop me going
I am not dismissing their human rights record, nor their zero tolerance policy for homosexuality, but as much as this is a power play and sports washing on their behalf, the WC is for the thousands of fans that just want to go and watch football.
One thing that I found a tad irritating re; Qatar, was the likes of Alex Scott being very vocal against their approach to homosexuality, but still reporting and working out there. If you’re going to go down that route (which is absolutely justified), then don’t undermine yourself when it comes to being paid. I do feel that it’s quite hypocritical to criticize but also take the money
Re your last paragraph I would agree if she was being paid by Qatar but she was paid by the BBC and actually spoke up while in Qatar which wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Likewise Adam Crafton from The Athletic told stories about his experience being there and the experience of LGBTQ Qatari’s which is incredibly important work.
If we said that working in a country undermines any criticism of it then we would never get any reporting from Russia, for example, where journalists can gather information they wouldn’t be able to from London.
I plan to be at every tournament for the foreseeable and will happily go to Saudi and judge the experience for myself rather than what we’re told by those sitting at home 👍
Will you be judging what it's like to be tortured? Let us know how that goes
I’ll be going as a football fan with an open mind. Served me well in Qatar, as it did however many other hundreds of thousands of people who did the same.
Nice try though.
But you went during the glitzy World Cup when they had to be decent to everyone.
Do you have an open mind or rose tinted spectacles?
I plan to be at every tournament for the foreseeable and will happily go to Saudi and judge the experience for myself rather than what we’re told by those sitting at home 👍
Will you be judging what it's like to be tortured? Let us know how that goes
I’ll be going as a football fan with an open mind. Served me well in Qatar, as it did however many other hundreds of thousands of people who did the same.
Nice try though.
But you went during the glitzy World Cup when they had to be decent to everyone.
Do you have an open mind or rose tinted spectacles?
You seem very passionate about this. Tell us what you’ll be doing about it…
FIFA rules say that a confederation can’t host two World Cups within three editions.
In the 2026 & 2030 editions, FIFA have covered North America, South America, Africa and Europe.
Leaving only Asian confederations available to bid.
There was some hope that maybe Australia & NZ might mount a serious bid but this process felt rigged from the get go so I’m not surprised they didn’t put a proper bid on the table.
It's bollocks, FIFA can change their own rules at any time. All this stuff about global expansion of football is a rouse, it's 100% about money and people are deluded if they think otherwise.
Which confederations are available for the 2034 World Cup.
If we politicized our lifestyle choices, we’d all be sat at home, consuming and doing nothing. It’s inescapable in this day an age. If the same lot that had bought Newcastle decided they wanted to waste their money on Charlton, it wouldn’t stop me going
I am not dismissing their human rights record, nor their zero tolerance policy for homosexuality, but as much as this is a power play and sports washing on their behalf, the WC is for the thousands of fans that just want to go and watch football.
One thing that I found a tad irritating re; Qatar, was the likes of Alex Scott being very vocal against their approach to homosexuality, but still reporting and working out there. If you’re going to go down that route (which is absolutely justified), then don’t undermine yourself when it comes to being paid. I do feel that it’s quite hypocritical to criticize but also take the money
Re your last paragraph I would agree if she was being paid by Qatar but she was paid by the BBC and actually spoke up while in Qatar which wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Likewise Adam Crafton from The Athletic told stories about his experience being there and the experience of LGBTQ Qatari’s which is incredibly important work.
If we said that working in a country undermines any criticism of it then we would never get any reporting from Russia, for example, where journalists can gather information they wouldn’t be able to from London.
I plan to be at every tournament for the foreseeable and will happily go to Saudi and judge the experience for myself rather than what we’re told by those sitting at home 👍
Will you be judging what it's like to be tortured? Let us know how that goes
I’ll be going as a football fan with an open mind. Served me well in Qatar, as it did however many other hundreds of thousands of people who did the same.
Nice try though.
But you went during the glitzy World Cup when they had to be decent to everyone.
Do you have an open mind or rose tinted spectacles?
I’ll be going as a football fan who loves the World Cup and supporting England.
If you want to judge me for that or if it irks you, then frankly I don’t care.
Comments
Nice try though.
They could of course build a bunch of completely new ones like Qatar did and Saudi will do, but Qatar allegedly spent $220 billion and god knows how much Saudi will spend. I'm not sure the UAE will be interested in doing that.
Those things are 100% happening in Saudi Arabia, if you wanna go then I have no judgements but it's not about having an open mind, it's about not caring about these things
I don’t agree with the way a lot of things are politically in America at the moment. Does that mean I should have a guilty conscience for going there in 2026 with the sole purpose of watching football and cheering on my team?
That said, at no point have I actually commented on the politics of Saudi Arabia or declared that “don’t care” about those things. You’ve assumed that all because I said I’d go there to watch football….
Just like in Qatar, you won't get the typical dickheads traveling out there and those that do go will be too scared to cause any trouble. You had fans from tons of countries all mixing together pre and post-match which created a good atmosphere and i'm sure in Saudi it will be the same.
I'd imagine by 2034 you'll be able to get it in hotel bars and restaurants but that like Qatar, it won't be on sale at the stadiums.
I thought that might what they were planning with the finalissima being the first step.
All in all, I'm not going so it doesn't bother me too much.
A big issue with this WC and the one in Qatar is that the people who make it possible by building the infrastructure are poorly treated and Fifa is in effect endorsing those actions.
I understand that everyone at the top of football is morally bankrupt to some degree but bending over backwards for the oil money of Saudi, Qatar and the UAE is particularly nauseating and that’s before you even take into consideration the climate implications.
I am not dismissing their human rights record, nor their zero tolerance policy for homosexuality, but as much as this is a power play and sports washing on their behalf, the WC is for the thousands of fans that just want to go and watch football.
One thing that I found a tad irritating re; Qatar, was the likes of Alex Scott being very vocal against their approach to homosexuality, but still reporting and working out there. If you’re going to go down that route (which is absolutely justified), then don’t undermine yourself when it comes to being paid. I do feel that it’s quite hypocritical to criticize but also take the money
If we said that working in a country undermines any criticism of it then we would never get any reporting from Russia, for example, where journalists can gather information they wouldn’t be able to from London.
Do you have an open mind or rose tinted spectacles?
Which confederations are available for the 2034 World Cup.
2026 - CONCACAF
2030 - UEFA, CAF, CONMEBOL
2034 - AFC
Just OFC, who only really consist of New Zealand. My suggestion would be to play it in Antarctica, that's a genuine expansion of football.
Oh wait, give it to CONCACAF again, which is highly unlikely. Therefore FIFA will be forced to change their own rules.