Written by Christian Radnedge
LONDON (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Sports Minister on Wednesday praised Qatar for hosting the World Cup last year and said his country wanted to experience it first-hand as it seeks to host the tournament in 2034.
Saudi Arabia expressed interest in hosting the World Cup after FIFA earlier this month invited countries from Asia and Oceania to submit bids until October 31.
Qatar was the first country in the Middle East to host the World Cup last year, and Saudi Deputy Sports Minister Badr Al-Qadi praised the country despite tense diplomatic relations between the two countries in recent years.
“Like the pride they felt in the UK when they organized the Olympic Games, like how proud we were to beat Argentina in the World Cup. And Qatar (…) we are proud of what other countries have done by offering an excellent World Cup opportunity,” Al-Qadi declared at a sports conference in London.
“We definitely want this to be in our homeland. We want to make sure that we develop our country to host this type of event,” he added.
In response to a question about the fans’ experience in Qatar, which included a ban on serving alcoholic beverages in stadiums, Al-Qadi said that people enjoyed a unique experience.
“And this is something we sincerely applaud our colleagues and Qatar for moving forward and certainly showing that this is a possibility (and this is) something we would like to repeat,” he added.
He did not clarify whether this meant allowing alcoholic beverages to be served in fan zones and hotels, as was the case in Qatar. Alcohol is prohibited in Saudi Arabia.
Critics accuse the country of using its sovereign wealth fund to carry out “sports whitewash” in the face of harsh criticism of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, which the Kingdom denies, saying it protects its national security through laws.
(Edited in Spanish by Javier Lira)
“Lifelong travel trailblazer. Food nerd. Award-winning music enthusiast. Twitter guru.”