World Cup award 2034
Fans demand von Neuendorf: Vote against the World Cup in Saudi Arabia
Next week, Saudi Arabia will officially host the 2034 World Cup. Fans want to prevent that – and if the country is awarded, a DFB vote on a boycott.
In an open letter, the Fairness United initiative called on DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, among other things, to vote against Saudi Arabia’s application to host the 2034 World Cup. “It is contrary to all ethical principles of sport to select such a state to host the World Cup,” the letter said. “This decision by FIFA follows the logic of profit and corruption alone and makes a mockery of its own noble commitment to human rights and sustainability.”
On December 11th, the world football association FIFA will award the 2034 tournament to the kingdom, which is controversial because of its human rights policy. The vote will take place en bloc with the 2030 tournament, which is scheduled to take place in Spain, Portugal and Morocco after opening games in South America.
The DFB is in a sports policy dilemma. A no vote and an abstention would alienate the European partners, while the expected yes vote would cause a lot of criticism in Germany. The DFB has not yet officially stated how it will vote.
Several alliances and fan clubs involved
Fairness United also demanded: “If there is a FIFA decision in favor of Saudi Arabia in 2034 and there have been no fundamental democratic and liberal reforms in the country by 2030: hold a binding ballot among the DFB members in good time before the World Cup qualifiers to the question of whether the DFB national team should take part in the 2034 tournament.”
The open letter is signed by several fan alliances and fan clubs from various clubs. Many of the members of Fairness United had already expressed themselves very critically before the last World Cup in Qatar and called for a boycott of the tournament under the title BoycottQatar2022.
dpa
