Saudi Arabia's billion rain over sports such as football, golf, tennis, and Formula 1 has been accused of being about "sportswashing". A way for the authoritarian regime to wash its reputation through sports and get the world to ignore human rights violations.
In the spring, the state-owned Saudi oil company Aramco signed a major sponsorship agreement with the International Football Association (Fifa), and now it is clear that the country's investment fund Pif is writing an agreement with Concacaf.
The value of the sponsorship agreement in money is not officially disclosed, according to the news agency AFP. The agreement includes support for national teams (men's, women's, and youth) in Concacaf's 41 member associations, as well as club tournaments in the region.
The 2026 World Championship will be held in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
Then, the 2030 World Championship is expected to be played in Spain, Morocco, and Portugal, with three matches in South American Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Everything suggests that the 2034 World Championship will be held in Saudi Arabia, which is the only remaining candidate to host the championship.
Formally, Fifa is expected to make a decision on host countries for the 2030 and 2034 World Championships in December this year.
