On Tuesday, the International Football Association (FIFA) confirmed that Australia is withdrawing and that Saudi Arabia is thus the only applicant for the World Cup finals in 2034. This causes Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Association (NFF), to react. – Appears rigged She realizes that Saudi Arabia has come to stay in world football, but is very surprised by the way this World Cup process is progressing. – We think it is objectionable that the process turned out to be such that, on the day when the award criteria were to be announced, everything was as if rigged. That’s how it appears. Our focus now is to investigate what went on behind these closed doors, says Klaveness to news. She is concerned that these processes should be open and transparent. Instead, she believes that the situation that has now arisen, with Saudi Arabia as the only applicant, indicates that a “horse-trading” has instead taken place between different parties. On 4 October, it became clear that FIFA awarded the football World Cup in 2030 to six countries on three different continents. These countries were Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Uruguay and Argentina. Then the deadline was 31 October to submit an application to become the organizer of the World Cup in 2034. When Australia withdrew its candidacy, FIFA then confirmed on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia is the only applicant for the championship in 2034. – We must investigate more closely what has happened. It doesn’t seem good, she says. – How will you be able to investigate this process? – Talk to Fifa and the Fifa administration, and our administration met them yesterday. We also have to talk to other unions. There have been agreements between confederations, such as Uefa and the other confederated football associations. All this has happened after very closed processes, answers Klaveness. news has been in contact with Fifa, which does not want to comment on the actions of Klaveness. WANT TO INVESTIGATE: Lise Klaveness believes there is reason to be critical of the process that is now underway towards the final award of the football World Cup in 2034. Photo: Terje Haugnes / news Australia: – No promises have been made James Johnson, director of the Australian Football Association, claims to Sportscal that the decision to withdraw the application is based on its own assessment of the competition situation, not as a consequence of pressure from Fifa or in exchange for other awards. – No promises have been made regarding the Asian Women’s Football Championship in 2026 or the Club World Cup in 2029, claims Johnson. At the same time, he admits that the nation now has good opportunities to be awarded the two championships. – I think we will get some “goodwill” from not going for the 2034 WC, he says. WHAT NOW: NFF president Lise Klaveness reacts after the football World Cup 2034 is apparently awarded to Saudi Arabia, here represented by the Saudi Arabian football president Yasser al-Misehal. Photo: Montage Fayez Nureldine/Marius Simensen / NTB/Bildbyrån Should Norway boycott the football World Cup in 2034 if it is awarded to Saudi Arabia? Yes No Uncertain Show result Supports the Saudi WC One person who supports the Saudi application is Hervé Renard, coach of France’s women’s national team. He coached Saudi Arabia during the World Cup in Qatar, where they beat Argentina sensationally in the group stage, and is very positive that the nation can be awarded the championship. – Of course. I had some amazing experiences with the team. Together with my support staff, we spent almost four years in Saudi Arabia. It was very, very good. The people, especially the union, were fantastic with us, to be honest. We had everything we wanted and needed, so it was a very good experience, says Renard to news. – In Norway, there has been criticism of Saudi Arabia due to violations of human rights. Have you caught on to that criticism? – I have seen it, of course. – Do you see that there could be a problem? – The criticism from the European side… Sometimes they don’t understand particularly well over there. I think they have made a very good effort. I can understand that for Norway it may not yet be good enough, but I hope many things will be improved because of this World Cup. We have to listen to a country like Norway, but they also have their own culture. You cannot compare Europe with the Middle East, he believes. news has also tried to get a comment from Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Oslo, so far without a reply. SUPPORTS SAUDI: Hervé Renard believes that positive things can come out of a World Cup in the oil state. Photo: GEORG HOCHMUTH / AFP – A scandal of rank Troels Bager Thøgersen, editor-in-chief of the Danish Tipsbladet, has been crystal clear in his own columns after the news broke. – Denmark should withdraw from the WC in 2034 immediately, he writes. He believes that a WC in the kingdom would go against everything the Danish Football Association has said about how they want football to develop. He emphasizes that one must learn from Qatar and drop everything called critical dialogue, it will only legitimize this scandalous decision, Bager Thøgersen believes. – It is a scandal of the highest order that Fifa and the other football associations set aside all principles of transparency and proper processes and award Saudi Arabia a World Cup, he believes. Formal awarding of the championships in 2030 and 2034 will take place at a Fifa congress, probably at the end of next year, writes NTB. These have hosted the World Cup before 2022 – Qatar 2018 – Russia 2014 – Brazil 2010 – South Africa 2006 – Germany 2002 – Japan and South Korea 1998 – France 1994 – USA 1990 – Italy 1986 – Mexico 1982 – Spain 1978 – Argentina 1974 – West Germany 1970 – Mexico 1966 – England 1962 – Chile 1958 – Sweden 1954 – Switzerland 1950 – Brazil 1938 – France 1934 – Italy 1930 – Uruguay – Difficult to compete against Australia, which therefore chose to withdraw as an applicant country and thus clears the way for Saudi award, believes it was the only right move. – There is a disturbance in the market that we are now seeing, and it encompasses more than just the 2034 World Cup. But Saudi Arabia has put itself in a strong position. They have resources, and the governing authorities in the country prioritize investing in football, and it is difficult to compete against, says James Johnson, director of the Australian Football Association. Yasser Al Misehal, president of the Saudi Football Association, says in an official statement that there is support and a desire for the nation to succeed in capturing the World Cup award. – This moment marks the next phase in Saudi Arabia’s ambition to host the 2034 World Cup. We are humbled by the massive support from over 125 associations in Fifa after we announced our intentions a few weeks ago. The trust and faith expressed by the football family so far motivates us even more to hopefully host this iconic tournament in 11 years’ time, which will benefit everyone,” Al Misehal said in the statement. In a statement reproduced by the kingdom’s own press agency, Al-Misehal assures that Saudi Arabia is prepared to meet all demands made by Fifa in order to be awarded the 2034 World Cup. The Saudi Sports Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al Faisal, says in a statement that the World Cup in 2034 will help the country achieve its goals. – Hosting the WC in 2034 will help us achieve our dream of becoming a leading nation in world sport and will mark a significant milestone in the country’s transformation. As an emerging and welcoming home for all sports, we believe that hosting a World Cup is a natural next step in our football journey, he says according to Sky Sports.
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Saudi Arabia is approaching the World Cup – NFF believes the case appears to be “rigged” – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
