LGBTQ Fans Embraced by Saudi Arabia, Affirms 2034 Football World Cup Bid Leader

RIYADH – Hammad Albalawi, head of Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid unit, emphasized that his country is open to hosting all visitors, regardless of their sexual orientation, and that their bid to host the 48-team showpiece event is not an attempt to cover up any human rights issues.

Global governing body Fifa limited the 2034 contest to bidders from the Asian and Oceania confederations as Morocco, Portugal and Spain will share the hosting of the 2030 tournament.

The hosts are set to be officially appointed at the Fifa Congress on Dec 11 and Saudi Arabia’s bid is almost certain to succeed due to the absence of any other expressions of interest before Fifa’s deadline in late 2023.

In August, Amnesty International said Saudi Arabia failed to meet Fifa’s own human rights requirements in their bid for the 2034 men’s World Cup and called for urgent action to improve the nation’s human rights protections.

There are no public advocacy groups for LGBTQ people in the Kingdom and while Saudi’s state law is uncodified, it is understood by Amnesty that people can be sentenced to death if it is proven they have engaged in same-sex sexual acts.

“You will be respected,” Albalawi told when asked about LGBTQ fans visiting his country. “You will be welcome in Saudi Arabia as that respect and welcome is to everyone from all around the world.

“We respect the privacy of all of our guests. We have seen millions of guests come to Saudi Arabia in the last few years. We’ve hosted over a hundred sporting events attended by more than three million fans who have enjoyed their experience.

“People need to educate themselves about the Kingdom and the best way to do that is to come and visit. They will find hospitable Saudis. We would love to receive all of our guests.”

In May 2023, Saudi’s government-run tourism website said in a statement under general information for LGBT visitors, “We ask that visitors respect our culture and traditions and follow our laws as they would when visiting any other country in the world.”

“Like other governments around the world, visitors are not required to disclose their personal information and we will respect visitors’ right to privacy.”

The Saudis have invested heavily in high-profile sports such as football, Formula One, boxing and golf over the last few years, leading critics, including Amnesty International, to accuse the oil-rich kingdom of sportswashing its human rights record.

Albalawi denied accusations of sportswashing and reaffirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to Vision 2030 while speaking with both local and international media.

“We’re not doing this to make a headline, we’re doing this for our people,” Albalawi said. “We are investing to make sure that Saudis live longer and happier lives and that’s something that we’re very proud of.”