THE FOOTBALL WORLD CUP 2034 IS GOING TO SAUDI ARABIA - CAN IT CONTRIBUTE TO PEACE?

Since October 7th, the world news has been dominated by the war between Israel and the Hamas terrorists. As always, innocent civilians - in this case regardless of whether they are Israeli or Palestinian - are the victims and especially where children are concerned, everyone's stomach turns. The images are horrible and evoke many emotions: incomprehension, anger and sadness.

The polarization regarding this subject has also erupted in full force within our own Dutch society, perhaps inevitable if one knows the history of the area.

And, unfortunately not for the first time, this leads to a search for a scapegoat, a group at which the aggression can be directed.

That our Dutch Jewish fellow citizens, who have no part in what is happening in Gaza, are intimidated or even terrorized is terrible and unacceptable.

In my opinion, the Dutch authorities are failing horribly in this respect, something that the ladies and gentlemen politicians, who always excel in profusely professing support, can certainly blame themselves for.

Apparently we can easily free up 5,000 police man-hours for any Dutch FA cup final or a high-risk European football match, but it is not possible to ensure that peaceful citizens who wish to participate in a silent march or want to attend a lecture, can do so in a safe manner.

Not to mention the fact that the three Jewish schools in our country felt forced to temporarily close their doors.

It simply cannot be the case that intimidation and threats from a small (and well-known) group are bowed to - and yet this happens in our country, time and time again.

Anyway, since this is primarily a column about football, I'm shifting my focus to Saudi Arabia.

This most powerful Muslim country in the Middle East is doing everything it can to be accepted and respected by the Western world, as well as to prepare itself well for a future without its current endless revenues from oil.

To this end, Saudi Arabia recently opened its borders to foreign investors and tourism. In addition, significant investments have been made in the field of sports in recent years, mainly by organizing a number of major sporting events.

After hosting the Formula I, several major boxing matches and a few golf tournaments, Saudi Arabia has jumped onto football since a few years. The first step was the purchase of Newcastle United in 2021, the second the organization of the World Cup for club teams (next month) and the third the recruitment of world stars such as Ronaldo, Neymar and Benzema for its own Saudi Pro League.

However, the ultimate goal is to organize the Football World Cup in 2034. The World Cup represents an extremely high value, especially in terms of image and appearance, and certainly in those areas Saudi Arabia still has a lot to gain.

What Qatar can do, we can do too (and better), 38-year-old Mohammed Bin Salman al-Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, must have thought. And so recently billions were spent at a rapid pace to bring in the World Cup.

And not without results, as has now become clear. Directly after competitor Australia, convinced that a large number of votes had already been bought by Saudi Arabia and that it therefore would (just like in 2010) have no chance to be granted the hosting rights, announced yesterday that it withdrew its candidacy, FIFA boss Gianni Infantino came out to report that Saudi Arabia was not only the only remaining candidate but also that the 2034 World Cup will indeed be awarded to that country.

During the FIFA congress in Thailand in May next year, this intention (read: decision) will still have to be ratified by the 211 FIFA member states, but no one doubts that this will happen, despite the fact that Saudi Arabia is a country where women have fewer rights than men, where homosexuality is illegal and where its border guards have slaughtered hundreds of refugees from Ethiopia at the Yemen-Saudi Arabia border over the past 1.5 years.

From that perspective, the choice for Saudi Arabia is of course bizarre, but in a certain way I am happy with it and I think that, all things considered, it is actually a good move by FIFA from a strategic point of view.

By awarding the World Cup to Saudi Arabia and announcing that at this early stage, the country's commitment is 'secured'. Not only to modernize over the next 10 years, but also to make maximum efforts to create stability in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia, which shortly before the October 7 attack was even on the verge of concluding a historic agreement with Israel (put 'on hold' in the current situation), simply cannot afford for the conflict to further escalate and spread across the region, with the World Cup on the horizon.

?In fact, the hope is justified that the country, urged to do so by Western countries in particular, will do everything it can to achieve a (structurally) peaceful solution for Israel and the Palestinian people.

Wouldn’t it be something if our beloved football sport could actually contribute to world peace?