Saudi Arabia will uphold its current ban on alcohol during the 2034 World Cup, said Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud, the host country’s ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Global soccer governing body FIFA officially announced Saudi hosts of the 2034 World Cup in December.

The kingdom banned alcohol, which is prohibited for observant Muslims, in 1952.

Beer was not sold at stadiums in neighbouring Qatar, where drinking in public is illegal, during the 2022 tournament, but it was available at designated fan zones and in some hotels.

“Plenty of fun can be had without alcohol – it’s not 100 per cent necessary and if you want to drink after you leave, you’re welcome to, but at the moment we don’t have alcohol,” Khalid bin Bandar told the British radio station LBC on Wednesday.

“Rather like our weather, it’s a dry country. Everyone has their own culture. We’re happy to accommodate people within the boundaries of our culture but we don’t want to change our culture for someone else.”

Last year, Saudi announced the opening of an alcohol shop in the Diplomatic Quarter of Riyadh to combat the black market and illegal imports. The store is only for non-Muslim diplomats, who must present diplomatic identification before they buy.

SPORTSWASHING

The kingdom has invested heavily in sport over the last few years through its Public Investment Fund, which has acquired Premier League club Newcastle United and founded the LIV Golf tour, challenging the US-based PGA Tour’s dominance.

Critics, including women’s rights groups and members of the LGBTQ community, allege it is using the PIF to sportswash its human rights record.

Asked if gay soccer fans would be able to safely attend the tournament, the ambassador replied: “We will welcome everyone in Saudi. It is not a Saudi event, it is a world event. And to a large extent, we will welcome everyone who wants to come.”

In September, Hammad Albalawi, the head of Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid unit, also assured that LGBTQ fans would be welcome and their privacy respected, pointing to the millions of fans who had travelled to Saudi for sporting events in recent years.

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

MIGRANT WORKERS

Saudi Arabia’s bid book pledged 15 stadiums, new or refurbished, by 2032, which are understood to be completed with the help of migrant labour.

Amnesty International and the Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) said in November that hosting the tournament in the Gulf country would lead to “severe and widespread” human rights violations.

“Fans will face discrimination… migrant workers will face exploitation, and many will die,” Steve Cockburn, Amnesty’s head of labour rights and sport, said.

Saudi Arabia has banned labour unions and enforces the “kafala” system of foreign labourer sponsorship. The country has repeatedly denied accusations of human rights abuses and said it protects its national security through its laws.

-Reuters

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Nigeria’s next World Cup qualifying match holds next month at the Amahoro Stadium, in Kigali when the Super Eagles face Rwanda.

The Super Eagles have never won a match at that stadium since June 2005, even though they have played three matches there.

More worrisome, the Super Eagles have not won a World Cup qualifying match since 13 November 2021 when they beat Liberia in Tangiers Morocco.

They have since gone seven matches without a win. Their eighth World Cup qualifying match since the November 2021 defeat of Liberia comes up on 17 March in Kigali.

The Kigali stadium, where the Super Eagles played a 0-0 draw last September has now acquired a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system and Spider Cameras.

According to the leading Rwanda newspaper, The New Times, the innovations mark a significant step toward aligning the country’s football infrastructure with global standards, ushering in a new era of fairness and accuracy in officiating.

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Africa could break the glass ceiling of winning the World Cup in the next 10 years, partly thanks to a platform highlighting to foreign clubs the most talented youth from the continent, the co-founder has boldly claimed to AFP.

Morocco’s surprise run to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals sparked hopes that such a moment is not far off.

Benjamin Balkin, though, thinks Eyeball, the digital platform he co-founded in 2020, could be the determining factor in ensuring that happens as it provides a shop window for talent which would previously have been missed.

Balkin cheerfully describes himself as a “failed footballer” having played in the academy of French club Monaco but was told he would fall short in the senior ranks.

As a Monaco ballboy, Balkin marvelled at the skills of Ivory Coast superstar Yaya Toure and Togo’s Emmanuel Adebayor.

It was the spark that lit the fuse and has years later resulted in Eyeball investing in an Under-19 championship for Senegalese academies, United Future League, in Senegal.

That is one part of their investment as they also provide video cameras to 5,000 youth coaches globally, who film training sessions and add tags to individual players which are then placed on the platform.

High-profile clubs like German champions Bayer Leverkusen and Chelsea can access the footage.

It costs clubs just 92 euros ($97) a day to be able to scout 30,000 players across Africa.

Balkin, born in France to Danish parents, says by moving abroad the players grow in every sense which ultimately benefits their national sides.

“Those players leaving African academies and going to European or American academies, their football understanding skills, IQ will improve, because of just a better level of training, better infrastructure,” Balkin told AFP from Copenhagen.

“When those players come back and play for the national team, the national teams will also benefit from that and perform probably at a better level.

“So maybe if we speak again in 10 years, we’ll have an African nation that has won the World Cup, that wouldn’t be surprising.”

‘Much more transparent’

Balkin’s friend and now colleague Oliver Durr Dehnhardt experienced how difficult it was to acquire African talent when he was a scout at Dutch giants Ajax.

“We made a partnership with Cape Town FC in South Africa for a few years,” he told AFP.

“It didn’t work out. We got one player out of it and it was still too messy.

“So in the end, before Eyeball, the idea in Africa was, let’s wait until they come to Europe and then we just need to accept that we will have to pay 10, 15, 20 million euros for them.”

The 30-year-old Dane said that picture was transformed when Eyeball, who say they are the only players in this market, came on the scene.

“In my later stage at Ajax, we were starting to look actively in Africa because Eyeball enabled that for us,” he said.

“With the United Future League, they actually built the structure that was missing and gave us the opportunity to see the players a year, year-and-a-half before they made their senior debut.

“So all of a sudden, we were able to replicate the process that we have in Europe to Africa.”

In years gone by there have been plentiful stories of young talent brought to Europe by unscrupulous agents and when they fail to make it are left to fend for themselves, often condemned to sleeping on the streets.

Balkin, 26, believes such behaviour is now “outdated” but Eyeball provides a safety net.

“It certainly made things much more transparent,” he said.

“That’s the biggest thing. So throughout the system, you’re actually able to get correct information on players.

“So first of all, like, when are they born? What is the nationality?

“Clubs and scouts are able to reach out directly to other clubs down there in Africa without having to go through intermediaries.”

Balkin highlights the story of 19-year-old Assane Ouedraogo, who through the platform earned a move from his Ivory Coast club San Pedro to Charlotte in the MLS, although he is currently on loan at MLS Next Pro side Crown Legacy FC.

“With the sign-on bonus, he was able to buy a house for his parents.”

-AFP

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