Welcome to Saudi! But not to the World Cup watch party

We are sitting in the foyer of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) in a waiting booth behind the front desk and drink Arabic coffee served by a friendly young man.

After a visit to Tabuk, we went straight to the SAFF to get information about how to attend the watch party where Saudi Arabia will be awarded the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

For more than a week, nobody has answered our phone calls or responded to our emails about where it is and if we can attend SAFF's presentation to the digital FIFA Congress and the following press briefing.

Ever since a FIFA Council meeting in October 2024, we know the award will only be a formality, but we want to sit ringside when Gianni Infantino opens the envelope and pulls out the card with the name Saudi Arabia.

But they don’t want us to be there. They don’t even want to tell us where the watch party is.

Nobody knew where the watch party was

Before we went to Saudi Arabia, we knew that SAFF would hold their watch party including presentation, press conference and celebrations at the World Cup bid exhibition in Riyadh, a short drive from Ritz-Carlton Hotel, where Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman cemented his grip on power when he detained royals and senior officials in 2018.

Every time we contacted officials – and there were quite a few – we asked where the presentation would be and if we could get accreditation.

We asked an employee at Al-Riyadiya, a guy we met at Al-Hilal-Al-Raed some days before, who told us he was happy to help us during our stay. He could not tell us where it was.

The same happened with a Saudi member of parliament we had dinner with on the first day of our stay. He could not tell us where the presentation would take place either.

Representatives from the media company IMG – who takes care of all the broadcasting of the Saudi Pro League and probably also the SAFF broadcasting of the bid presentation – had no clue where it was.

We had also tried to contact a local representative from AFP without success.

The secretary general of SAFF did not answer our calls.

That’s why we sit here in SAFF's reception a few hours before the FIFA Congress: we simply want somebody to tell us where to attend the big moment for Saudi Arabia.

The friendly guy behind the SAFF reception desk tries his best to help us.

We give him phone numbers for all the people we think can give us an answer, and at least he pretends to call them and tell them what we need. With no luck.

Strangely, nobody in the SAFF seems to know where the SAFF presentation will take place.

There is not enough room in the tent

The communication director of the bid, a PR guy named Andy Sutherden, answered our messages before we went to Saudi Arabia, but went silent when we wanted updates on our quest for accreditation after we arrived in Riyadh.

On 3 December 2024, I sent Sutherden a message on LinkedIn and email asking for accreditation for the bid presentation and whether there "would be an event/press conference on 11 December after Saudi Arabia will be handed the WC, and - if so - is it possible to attend?"

On 5 December he replied and told me: "Space will be limited but we are working through the best way of providing media with the content & access required to cover our story."

After coming back from Tabuk, we were called by a representative from SAFF asking us if we still wanted accreditation for the bid presentation and press conference.

Of course, we told him. But after several calls he explained to us that we had been too late in applying for the accreditation and that we could not get in.

Why did he even bother calling us in the first place?

I tried one last time and texted Andy Sutherden:

"The guy we talked to right now said we applied too late … and you said you should try your best."

Shortly after I received an audio message from Andy Sutherden on WhatsApp:

"Andreas, my appreciation for your message. Welcome to Saudi. Welcome to Riyadh. Yes, it's not really a question about applying too late. It's more a question of capacity. This is predominantly from a media perspective. This is predominantly populated by Saudi media."

"And the way that we are accommodating the rest of the world is mainly through international wires. So, Reuters, AP, etc. So, the commentary and the events of this evening are predominantly being broadcast to the world by wires and we're looking for other opportunities for international media to engage with the bid leadership. So, it's less about the notice that you gave us, it's more about the capacity that we have in a relatively small venue. I hope you understand."

I did not understand.

The small venue he referred to is one of the biggest tents in Riyadh (perhaps with the exception of tents for migrant workers). We went there before the watch party started and saw it with our own eyes.

Our conversation continued on WhatsApp:

Andreas Selliaas: "Okay, thanks. Just for your information. Sam [my colleague I was travelling with] is very short and I am very slim. By the way, where is it? We can have a look from the outside, just to see how it is organised?"

Andy Sutherden: "Majority of guests are Ministers and VIPs so security cordon around venue is tight. There’s nothing to see."

Andreas Selliaas: "Okay, but where in the city is it?"

Andy Sutherden: "Riyadh."

Andreas Selliaas: "Nice one."

Strangely, many people we contacted before the FIFA Congress and who told us they did not know where the event would take place, could be seen on big screens in Boulevard City and other outdoor places where the FIFA Congress and bid presentations were broadcast to.

Partying in Boulevard City

In Boulevard City we meet families and groups of friends in traditional Arab attire, but also friend groups, families, and individuals in casual Western clothing who are there to celebrate the 2034 FIFA World Cup. Or at least enjoy a Wednesday evening out.

Within walking distance (a concept almost unheard of in this city) of Boulevard City, you find the venue hosting the first FIFAe Championship the same week, the stadium of Al-Hilal Football Club (also used for concerts and boxing events), and the COP16 UN conference to combat desertification.

A 30-minute drive from Boulevard City, you will find the tent where the dignitaries, VIP and bid committee  are assembled for the watch party. If you have an accreditation, of course.

On big screens in Riyadh, we are shown the same pictures as the national football federations who have managed to log on to Teams or Zoom to take part in this historic FIFA Congress.

The 13-year-old girl Sadeen Alyafei and a boy of the same age, Ali Kaabi, showcase Saudi Arabia's vision of the future to the global community.

In flawless English, the pair delivers a simple message: Saudi Arabia, with a young, sports-loving population, is transforming en route to delivering the best-ever World Cup. The entire endeavour is embodied in the bid slogan 'Growing Together.'

"To us, anything is possible," declares Alyafei.

While FIFA highlights that the bid evaluation for which Saudi Arabia received the highest score ever with 4.2, the local broadcast at Boulevard City is interrupted for prayer time before switching back to Zurich, where Infantino sits behind a large wooden desk, flanked by his general secretary Mattias Grafstrom.

The duo stages perhaps the most absurd congress in FIFA’s long history of controversial congresses.

Yalla, yalla - and golden ticker tape

When the time comes, Infantino tilts his head slightly sideways and instructs the football associations behind him on a wall of video screens on how to collectively clap and wave through the 2030 and 2034 World Cup bids.

In Boulevard City, onlookers were bemused as they watched FIFA president Gianni Infantino trying to make all football federations clap at the same time. Video: Andreas Selliaas

The clapping is bewildering, even to onlookers in Riyadh where football fans, families, veiled women and children with bid t-shirts and green and white balloons have gathered. 

It isn’t until Infantino displays the placard bearing Saudi Arabia's name that the crowd erupts into cheers and applause, releasing balloons into the night sky. Golden ticker tape showers the crowd, and the song 'Yalla Yalla' reverberates around Riyadh.

The Saudi broadcast switches to the bid exhibition tent, where dignitaries and officials, including Saudi sports minister Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal and governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Yasir Al-Rumayyan, have convened outside the glare of international media.

The political messaging is straightforward: Saudi Arabia should thank Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

"More than 170 federations announced their support for us, which constitutes 80 per cent of the FIFA members", Saudi bid leader Hamad Al-Balawi tells local media.

"It is natural that any federation that visits Saudi Arabia will notice the rapid progress and support we have. We do not work to please them, but rather to please ourselves."

This is exactly how FIFA and Gianni Infantino like it – tailored by a bid committee with PR expertise from the world’s biggest communication companies.

Four days of celebrations

At 8:34 PM, fireworks erupt in nine locations across Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, and in six other cities throughout the country. They mark the beginning of four days of celebrations.

Before the farcical vote at the extraordinary digital FIFA congress in Zurich, my colleague Samindra Kunti and I obtained a detailed itinerary for the celebration of Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the 2034 World Cup.

The so-called 'Celebration Booklet' is 26 pages long. As the sole candidate for the 2034 tournament, the Saudis have had plenty of time to prepare.

In the manual – distributed by authorities nationwide – the Saudi population is strongly encouraged to take part in the celebrations:

During all celebration activities, we invite you to wear your national jersey, club jersey, or other Saudi football kit to show your national pride. Make sure you post your football shirt photos and selfies on social media, using #Saudi2034

In addition to fireworks in designated locations, drone shows were organised in four cities (including Riyadh), with special events in 13 cities. Over the following days, fighter jet shows and other activities take place nationwide for four days.

Careful planning went into the celebration of being awarded the World Cup. Here is a screenshot of the 'Celebration Booklet' which detailed events over four days.

Very few dissenting voices

During the FIFA Congress there were few protests. Only Norway and Switzerland expressed dissent and had their protest registered in the minutes.

The Norwegians pointed out that "the bidding process undermines FIFA’s own 2016 reforms for good governance and transparent World Cup allocations” and that “the NFF cannot endorse a process it considers flawed and inconsistent with the principles of FIFA’s own reforms."

Ahead of the 2022 World Cup Lise Klaveness, chair of the Norwegian Football Federation, was the chief critic of Qatar’s human rights record.

The Norwegians ultimately didn’t boycott the tournament but opted for ‘dialogue’ leading to Klaveness’s famous speech in Doha.

FIFA ultimately quenched a European ‘rebellion’ represented by the OneLove armband by threatening sporting sanctions.

Two years after Qatar, that ‘resistance’ went mute. Most associations maintain a deafening silence. The bigger associations, including England and Germany, backed Saudi Arabia. Belgium even congratulated Saudi Arabia ahead of time.

Migrant workers think little of Infantino

During our stay in Saudi Arabia we spoke to many migrant workers in Riyadh, Tabuk, and Neom, and you wouldn’t find many of them in the places recommended by the 'Celebration Booklet'.

Except, of course, for those cleaning up the confetti and garbage left behind by Saudis in World Cup euphoria.

The next day we spent a few hours with a group of migrant workers from Bangladesh and showed them a picture of Gianni Infantino. Their response was: "Bad person. He takes too much money."

Since Mohammed Bin Salman launched Vision 2030, 20,000 migrant workers have reportedly died in Saudi Arabia, according to the TV channel ITV.

This is information neither FIFA nor the Saudi authorities want as part of the narrative moving forward.

And that’s exactly why journalists travelling to Saudi Arabia are a problem for them and were not invited to the watch party.