How Saudi Arabia BOUGHT The FIFA World Cup

In the least surprising news of all time, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been announced by FIFA as the sole hosts of the 2034 FIFA World Cup, having won the right to host the World Cup unopposed.
Whether it be FIFA spreading the 2030 World Cup over three continents, changing their own rules regarding stadiums, or bringing forward the bidding deadline by three years, everything appears to have been set-up to gift Saudi Arabia the World Cup in 2034.
So in this video, from backroom deals with tiny island nations to mega sponsorship deals, HITC Sevens takes a look at how Saudi Arabia bought the world of football, and with it the FIFA World Cup.
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[@kozukizaki8675]

As difficult as it is, congrats Infantino you've topped Blatter as the worst FIFA president in my lifetime.

[@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986]

Today I feel corrupt

[@slowjoe91]

How did they let another gulf coast country host it again after qatar?

[@kozukizaki8675]

@@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986 today I feel like a walking corrupt hemorrhoid

[@gothicgolem2947]

Why? If you were paid that ammount of money you would not go to Saudi?

[@user-un1et7eu7y]

today I feel... Greedy!

[@theduck2970]

We were all mocking FIFA when Sepp Blatter was President for being so corrupt but we never expected Infantino to actually beat him outright in corruption. Like right out in the open kind of stuff.

[@maxgonzalez214]

While Blatter was an old school "under the table" type of corrupt administrator, Infantino legalized corrupt, unethical procedures so he can do his thing out in the open. He is the Silvio Berlusconi of global football.

[@UnbreakableHER0]

Also within a couple of years

[@onlineempire4204]

Japan and Saudi Arabia are my favourite 2 countries in Asia

[@nasseralzeer9935]

And why it's not corruption because of 2026 USA ?

[@theduck2970]

@@nasseralzeer9935 First of all, 2026 has 3 hosts, not just the US. 2nd, CONCACAF last hosted in 1994, which means they're eligible to host an upcoming World Cup. Thirdly, this video itself already explained why the Saudi Arabia bid is corrupt. Now, you tell me why you think the 2026 bid is corrupt. Show some evidence instead of just saying "it's because of USA."

[@therealruckus5263]

It's so frustrating because even with the time difference, Australia is the perfect host. It's literally spreading the game to the other end of the world, they have the stadiums, it would be in their winter so ideal climate and above all it's one of the most popular places to visit in the world.

[@michaelrizka]

Plus after the world cup you can just go to bali or singapore for extended holiday

[@griffindinho5109]

Stadiums and lack of control over stadiums would be the issue with Australia as a sole host.

[@aliati8377]

The weather in Aus is very bad also they dont care abour football, most of their stadiums are for other sports, and the once for football needs huge upgrades to accommodate the large number of fans

[@Alfie_1]

Considering we only have one 100,000 seater stadium already, plus another at 88,000, three more over 50,000, yeah we would really struggle with stadiums, especially since the bid was going to be a joint one with indonesia. The weather would be perfect for the World Cup though. And I don't think it is true that australians dont care about football anymore, an estimated 17 million people out of 25 million watched the women's world cup semi final@@aliati8377 Sorry that was rudely phrased

[@somethinglikethat2176]

​@@aliati8377 we have enough room in our hearts for many types of football. 😊

[@sdeepj]

FIFA doesn’t like democracies, because they ruin their plans. Only 2 Canadian cities are hosting games instead of 3, because Edmonton wanted to host knock out round games. The mayor said if they’re going to spend a lot of money they want to host more than the group stages

[@FC-mz2lk]

Yes we totally see these democracies in the world like France Germany and USA so democratic it is to ignore your nation and lead to the deaths oof people lmao keep your hypocrisy to yourself

[@nasseralzeer9935]

What does democracy do with Saudi hosts WC ?

[@hair6789]

@@nasseralzeer9935 Lmfao maybe because Saudi Arabia isnt a democracy?

[@Mdksupreme1]

You westerners talking bs about non democratic like you didn't overthrow their democratically elected presidents and put in dictators to make sure their countries bent to your will, y'all are pathetic fr

[@akxn2162]

there you go! Fifa needs money and non democratic nations give them that best

[@richardbeck818]

Not sure Alfie will be getting an invite to Saudi Arabia anytime soon! On a serious note, this is really good journalism. Just wish other mainstream media outlets would take a similar stance!

[@CommissionerManu]

Tbh, at this point I’d be much more scared for him if he *did* get an invite from them

[@NR-fd9wv]

if they invite him to their embassy, he should be worried

[@phightinphil25]

@@NR-fd9wv The problem is I don't think he would be dumb enough to show up.

[@onlineempire4204]

Japan and Saudi Arabia are my favourite 2 countries in Asia

[@iaingeddes4288]

It makes the “let’s keep politics out of football”, the most egregious and nauseating oxymoron ever. Football was and always should be the peoples game. The origins and rise in popularity of association football were absolutely entrenched in the political struggles of the working class everywhere. A great man once said “football without fans is nothing “. All of football’s governing bodies should have this as the central tenet, tattooed on the inside of their eyelids.

[@InfinteIdeas]

It should be called "lack of oxy moron"

[@philz.1521]

Its the first argument that every totalitarian regime uses after aquiring some kind of sporting event (for obvious political/ propaganda reasons), to not get criticism. They don't want sports without politics, they want sports, where their political wrongdoing's don't get critizised.

[@FozzQuaker]

Talking about Politics and Football FIFA has a rule that politics should be kept seperate from football, FIFA have literally suspended NT's in the past for political interference

[@onlineempire4204]

Japan and Saudi Arabia are my favourite 2 countries in Asia

[@TheOscar401]

Quite the contrary, this proves that statement EVEN MORE true

[@SebOutdoors]

While there's no reason to even state just how disgusting this whole farce is, I just want to express to you Alfie how much I really do enjoy your content and especially in regards to this 2034 world cup. I do not know of one single media outlet who's been capable of covering this topic to the depth and breadth that you've been capable of and I do indeed believe that your work makes a difference. So, kudos, and keep up the phenomenal work! All the best from Denmark!

[@chickenindabox3169]

If the world cup were in Australia, I would've wanted to go there. Now I'm actually thinking about stopping to watch football altogether.

[@CommissionerManu]

Support local lower grade and non league clubs, then you don’t have to give up the game you love, and you don’t support Fifa. I really wish there were more Clapton Community FC style clubs in the world…

[@barsbay7598]

You're not gonna stop watching

[@onlineempire4204]

Japan and Saudi Arabia are my favourite 2 countries in Asia

[@HarryWessex]

​@@CommissionerManu a Community non-league club? Pretty common in England I'm pretty sure.

[@nasseralzeer9935]

Quit football and go watch pigs race no one cares 🤣

[@shaka7302]

I saw a meme a while back that aftrer buying virtually everyone they're gonna buy the earth, it's getting truer everyday

[@HarryWessex]

Saudi Money is used to brainwash people (particularly in the US) to think Climate Change is fake, so people keep demanding Oil, so they keep getting more money.

[@nikc1313]

It's actually impressive how openly corrupt they are.

[@michaelrowell7798]

The problem is that is endemic in their culture, so it's never likely to be totally removed. The best that can be hoped for is that it is slowly eroded over time

[@ab7319]

Because most people simply don't care. Just look at the 2022 wc. There are so many people who consider it as the best wc because most " Football fans" (if you even can call them that) are just kids who simply have no understanding of football culture and simply want to see mbappe and messi and huge amounts of money. That's exactly the reason why in almost all big leagues except for the bundesliga most teams are controlled by huge investors and don't even have a real fanbase

[@MattSaysHello]

Every time Alfie does a video on Saudi Arabia I worry for his safety. Keep holding these regimes to account mate! 💪

[@isaacfung622]

Safety lol

[@theogtimeclock]

Safety like anything will happto him

[@ml4950ml]

😂😂😂

[@NR-fd9wv]

​@@theogtimeclock yeah right, i mean what could happen to someone who publily criticizes them? (just make sure to never enter a saudi embassy, i would miss this channel)

[@rd0676]

@@theogtimeclockwonder if they said that about Jamal Khashoggi too

[@welshed]

Sorry guys, Wales should have made a bid. We’ve let the world down.

[@CassiopeiaOnYT]

You can’t really do that since I believe only nations in the AFC are allowed to bid for it. And yeah the 2030 decision is also a utter farce. South America for group stages then Morocco Spain and Portugal for knockouts??? This is not a world tour…

[@only_fair23]

I don't think provinces, or non countries, can do that. Only the entire country can do so. I might be wrong, though.

[@PhillipsAndDat]

​@@only_fair23Wales is a country,

[@rogink]

@@only_fair23 All of the home nations are individual members, so of course FAW could bid. If they had the money for backhanders. And probably need another 10 world class stadiums! But I don't think even the FA would bid on their own - even for the Euros it's all the home nations, plus/including Ireland.

[@petergmred2005]

Australia was going to bid but our representative withdrew basically saying we didnt have a hope. How does qatar and saudi get them so close together. Of course its bought.

[@SirSayakaMikiThe3rd]

It's disgusting how obvious it is. Saudi Arabia will be such a terrible place to host the cup and the way they made it possible will also ruin the 2030 cup. At least the US, Canada, and Mexico will be great.

[@nicestoriesnottherealstori3006]

And to think that because of all of that, North America basically gets a free World Cup in 2038 despite not being involved in this whole thing.

[@phoenix5054]

I wanna see Saudi try to humiliate themselves on the 2029 Asian Winter Games.

[@sayfhs6253]

Well nobody believed in Qatar yet they produced the most beautiful & organised tournament thus far..if we talk about football only 22 WC gotta be one of the best

[@BOABModels]

I'd never heard of the Northern Mariana Islands but now I feel like it's the last thing I'll think of before going to bed tonight.

[@somethinglikethat2176]

Is a breakaway organisation to rival FIFA a possibility? If uefa and conmebol decided to do something like that as well as key countries in other confederations (Eg. Mexico, Canada, US in North America, Australia, Japan and South Korea in Asia, as well as others like New Zealand and Morocco), it would be the end of FIFA in any meanful way.

[@maxgonzalez214]

It'd be easier to make the UN a useful entity.

[@phightinphil25]

@@maxgonzalez214 And we know that's impossible.

[@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716]

You mean like the super league

[@only_fair23]

Definitely, we could call it the International Federation of Association Football or IFAF for short

[@diomuda7903]

Impossible. UEFA is still being a hostage for four dictatorships: Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Azerbaijan. They want to stay in UEFA for money, but at the same time they share autocratic backgrounds with many nations in Asia and Africa. It's the same four nations that backed Saudi Arabia to win the bid because they are both anti-democracy. Any UEFA's attempt to secede from UEFA can only be done if both four of them are expelled.

[@milesjcarter]

Something needs to be done about this, national teams need to take a stand and say they won't be attending

[@joshua2870]

@@isaacgeorge7288 Did you not watch the damn video?

[@ShadowElectricity]

​@isaacgeorge7288 did you not watch the video?

[@slowjoe91]

I understand when people who are pro-saudi, and say “we are investing in our sport just like you guys in western’s countries did” But this is different, when slave labor is involved, aswell as corruption and totally not being fit to hold a world cup due to heat and no big stadiums😢😐 Sack infantino the fifa president

[@MaghrabyANO]

bruh you claim it's slaves labor who built the countries in gulf while the western countries were built by ACTUAL SLAVERY from africa and india + colonizing of their lands and invading their territories

[@MpanzuSolos]

And human rights violations

[@philcartman2216]

So you should be as enraged with the 2026 world cup? Ffs mate, stfu and just enjoy the games.

[@shahzebhasan9995]

What Saudi is doing is horrible and deserves to he condemned and stopped, but let's face it, our human rights record isn't any better

[@NR-fd9wv]

@@shahzebhasan9995 who do you mean by we? saudi arabia has one of the worst records on human rights in the world. most countries who are worse are currently at war

[@malissaldo760]

Why is UEFA stil in FIFA ? How much corruption and greed can we tolerate ?

[@shawnschaitel838]

fifa controls every thing from the national associations to sh/t like uefa pretty much all of them are independent in name only

[@CalogeroPeritore]

UEFA is not less corrupt than FIFA. Ceferin is practically a mafia's boss and a dictator, friend of petro-monarchies and very poorly tolerant of dissent

[@sabilein91]

how is UEFA different? 😂 they are doing the same thing

[@shahzebhasan9995]

Look up the 2006 world cup host selection: spoilers: western europe is just as corrupt and dirty as the rest of the world. This isn't the story of the big bad brown man corrupting the beautiful game, it's the story of somebody exploiting an already corrupt system with the help of hypocrites who never really cared about human rights (and are in fact directly implicated in crimes equally heinous to the Saudi's). This isn't a defence of Saudi Arabia, their actions deserve to be condemned.

[@Alfie_1]

Because now it is detrimental to them lol they might be thinking 'corruption is bad if it hurts us' sort of thing@@sabilein91

[@Alfie_1]

The Northern Mariana Islands have been playing a lot at youth team level, just saying, in the AFC. I should add, they lost 23-0 to Australia U-17 last year.

[@ezraezra2928]

Probably the biggest win for Socceroos in any national team levels after the infamous American Samoa game (31-0).

[@Alfie_1]

@@ezraezra2928 I think so yeah, the Matildas have been pretty close to that, at the last asian cup the beat indonesia 18-0 i think it was

[@Alfie_1]

btw is that still the biggest international win?@@ezraezra2928

[@NR-fd9wv]

@@ezraezra2928 not sure, they used to play in the OFC against the likes of vanuatu and the cook islands

[@ezraezra2928]

@@Alfie_1 But the Matildas had suffered a humiliating lost to an unknown amateur boy team, right? This is really funny, considering the men's football were much better than a women's football.

[@saqeralotaibi4270]

UK people will not see another World Cup plying on their soil for another decade at least that’s satisfying

[@diomuda7903]

It is the result of how we capitulated ourselves to greed. If UEFA can grant membership for despotic Kazakhstan back in 2002 that, by 2023, still imprisons and represses dissidents and flirts with dictators, then we can do nothing when Saudi Arabia won the 2034 bid especially when Saudi Arabia is far more powerful than Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan serves as the playbook to what to be next and we let it to happen, the Central Asian nation is the first example of how modern sportswashing could be. Kazakhstan has used both gas and oil money exploited from the Caspian Sea to bribe and corrupt UEFA members to stay permanently, while caring nothing about football; their shock 2024 Euro qualifying forms is not because they have any long term strategy, but rather pure lucks surprisingly spread out for them, Kazakhstan’s stadiums are majority abysmal and their grassroot structure is poor. Saudi Arabia is aware of it, they saw how Kazakhstan successfully corrupted football, and with the vast oil they have underground, they exploit it. They are also benefited from staying inside the authoritarian AFC (which Kazakhstan should have been), and now Saudi Arabia is having what they wanted. If UEFA wants to redeem, and maybe FIFA need to redeem, we should have done things differently. We should have rejected Kazakhstan’s UEFA membership as the mean to prevent Saudi Arabia from doing the same. It is too late now.

[@chileanhussar2659]

Kazakhstan itself is a dictatorship, yet Europe played into its own mistake. The sin of Europe must be older than what happened now. Europe's admission to Kazakhstan has become a burden, not a blessing; and a curse, not a gift.

[@MrSmith1984]

Kazakhstan is partly in Europe, a former member of the USSR and has a large Russian Population. All of which where grounds to admit Kazakhstan into UEFA. And before one starts, I would add that Russia, Belarus & Azerbaijan are currently members of UEFA. As was the USSR, other Eastern European Nations, Spain, Portugal & Greece (all of whom where Dictatorships) during the Cold War as well. So yeah UEFA has had Dictatorships as members from the start. Regardless, the sportswashing really began when Abramovich bought Chelsea. Although I would argue the first example was when Silvio Berlusconi bought AC Milan in the late 80s. Actually come to think of it (since Silvio Berlusconi also came up with the Champions League), Berlusconi has a lot to answer for in relation to the current state of Italian Football.

[@diomuda7903]

@@MrSmith1984 When Greece, Portugal and Turkey were parts of UEFA alongside other Eastern Europe, UEFA at that time was being split by the Cold War, a rather different story than what's now today. The Cold War affected the border. Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003, which was a year after Kazakhstan joined in 2002. At the time Russia was still being recognised as an emerging democracy and Putin at the time was still a quiet person, leaving Belarus and Azerbaijan rather isolated dictatorships. Kazakhstan kickstarted sportswashing, others learnt to perfect it. Since most Kazakhs can speak Russian, there is no doubt that they knew where Abramovich got inspiration from. The chain of events fuelled Saudi Arabia to believe on the same thing. Berlusconi's role in damaging Italian football was huge. But it was not sportswashing, it was rather pure mafia. Although it was cracked down in 2005, the damage was done and the country has never recovered from it. My suggestion for it has always been appointing a non-Italian coach to rebuild Italy national team, but due to corruption and arrogance, Italians could not come to cope with the idea that a non-Italian should coach the Azzurri.

[@deanbrown29]

I honestly can't believe Australia aren't hosting this world cup, it's fooking embarrassing for fifa even with their extremely low standards.

[@skp8748]

They didn't bid

[@ethandalton6480]

​@@skp8748only because they knew there was no point, because Saudi Arabia were already in bed with FIFA. But you knew that, of course.

[@skp8748]

@@ethandalton6480 explain how they're 'in bed'

[@ethandalton6480]

@@skp8748 FIFA awarded the 2030 World Cup to 3 continents so that only AFC or OFC nations could host in 2034 due to the rotation policy, and OFC is essentially just New Zealand and a dozen or so small Pacific Islands. Within minutes of this announcement, Saudi Arabia said they were going to be bidding to host the 2034 World Cup. I say within minutes, it was practically a joint statement. Depsite not taking place for another 11 years, FIFA gave a deadline of 31 October, giving very little time any other prospective host nations to conduct feasibility studies or put together a competitive bid. Depsite the host not being officially announced until the end of next year, Infantino did just that on social media last week, through his own personal channel, not even an official FIFA account.

[@skp8748]

@@ethandalton6480 those three countries bid for it... Out of their own choice.

[@_______2107]

Fifa are so corrupt they are like a parody of what a corrupt institution acts like

[@soundscape26]

Eddie Howe risks disappearing from Alfie's videos from now on. Everyone has a price I guess.

[@ashwainthobourne4874]

You know why I won't complain. We allowed it to happen. This started with the "new champions league" and lets be real UEFA was only upset about the super league because they had plans of their own. In a decade we will look back and really wonder how did it get so bad.

[@strikeagario997]

Isn't it? Like where all those people who wanted England to host world cup? Are they just gone when England got to host the Euro instead? This whole debacle would have been avoided if any of South American nations actually bid for the World cup in 2030, instead we've got Spain-Portugal-Morocco which led UEFA nations were forbid to bid 2034 WC.

[@KimiFan2002]

@@strikeagario997Even if the South American nations bidder on their own, they would have been essentially forced out through Saudi basically buying off fifa

[@Nikkehansson]

Important topic Alfie, keep it up!

[@MadVybez]

Alfie be careful with the reporting I don't want you to end up going missing because of your objective views on the Saudi's 😉

[@BoomBoxASAP]

It very much has to be time for the big football assosiations to leave FIFA. I do'nt know why noone considers that as a viable option.

[@shawnschaitel838]

fifa controls every thing from the national associations to sh/t like uefa pretty much all of them are independent in name only

[@PezPerry]

What, as in a World Cup super league as such? Get plenty of football associations across Europe and South America to sign up to it? Not a bad idea. Would probably end up getting disgraced by nearly every other football nation around the world. But it would scare the shit out of FIFA for a while. Even if its only briefly.

[@shawnschaitel838]

@@PezPerry fifa owns not only the continental sh/t such as uefa and caf but the national associations as well due to fact most national associations and teams require FIFA funding z think of fifa as holding group/corperation and UEFA, CAF etc are smaller corps part of that holding group/corp and the national teams and national associations are companies part of the smaller coeperations that make up smaller corps of the holding group/corp

[@PezPerry]

@@shawnschaitel838 Got ya. Understood. But it does make you wonder if FIFA is alienating countries from holding world cups in the future. Maybe I just think that because I live in England and we seem to have given up on the whole idea. And the idea of one nation hosting the event in future is outdated. At least in FIFA’s eyes.

[@colonialstraits1069]

Because none of them actually care. The Confederations feed from the FIFA trough.

[@bryoon5369]

I think the 2030 World Cup will get changed now that Saudi has the World Cup for 2034 they just gave South America the games so saudi could run unopposed to host Argentina Uruguay and Paraguay won’t get a game now

[@50piccolo56]

Under their rules South America still has to be in it so Saudi is allowed to host

[@BoliveiraNTPW]

The reason they putted south america in 2030 was to "ban" them for Hosting 2034. Now after saudi getting the WC, it all makes sense. It was planned to be like that, Saudi probably made a deal with FIFA for this.

[@jc--sta1664]

Within the next 30 years, Saudi Arabia will host the Wimbledon tennis and the US Masters golf, plus, during the hottest part of their summer, the (ice) hockey World Cup and the Winter Olympics

[@power279]

they do have winter ice over there if im not mistaken😂

[@timgb7882]

It's definitely not the worst oart of this, but by FIFA's rules, only CONCACAF and OFC will be eligible for 2038, which means either it goes straight back to the US, or they break another rule to allow other associations to bid.

[@eashansaju8106]

probably to avoid the FBI from busting their ass like for 2022

[@BoliveiraNTPW]

Knowing FIFA... if someone pays them a lot, they will break the rules.

[@lordpelagius5078]

if you think fifa won't just change the rules again to give it to uae or china

[@eashansaju8106]

@lordpelagius5078 again mentioning this, they'll probably give it to the US to not get FBI involved

[@ab7319]

They will definitely remove the rule and use some stupid argument when in reality some dictatorship simply offered them a lot of money

[@thomasjohnson2862]

Going to Germany to watch Kaiserslautern tomorrow, so I’m watching your video on them from 3 years ago for a bit of pre-trip research. The voice and delivery has changed somewhat since then..

[@eno3085]

So we now have 10 years of ditching FIFA not giving into this nonsense and perhabs even boycotting or starting a new competition altogether. If Europe, North America, South america and the democracys of Asia combine then the saudis can play their opening match against Tuvalu which would be also the final.

[@diomuda7903]

The problem is UEFA also has dictatorships as members. Remember Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan (the latter joined in 2002)? None of them are democracies, but they hijacked Europe. If a new organisation is to be created, they will not join and are more likely to secede. UEFA doesn't want to lose any of them despite knowing how bad they are.

[@somethinglikethat2176]

Imagine spending all that time and money bribing your way to a World Cup and nobody turned up 😂

[@death2641]

Well only Europe and North America, South America doesn't give any f*cks unless their country qualifies

[@saqeralotaibi4270]

People who support IDF is talking about corruption and dictatorship 😂

[@garrymartin6474]

Australia would be fabulous hosts. FIFA is killing football.

[@skp8748]

They didn't bid.

[@banthachannel5132]

​@@skp8748they know Saudi paid off FIFA and did not want to waste money by bidding.

[@garrymartin6474]

@@skp8748 I know no one other than the Saudi's had a chance to

[@bbcmotd]

You know how much it costs to get there?

[@weedoonsooth]

Hey Alfie. Congratulations on another outstanding video. I just wanted to let you know that the German word 'Die', as in 'Die Welt', is pronounced "Dee". As a rule, German words containing 'ie' are pronounced "ee" and words containing 'ei' are pronounced like "eye". 🙂

[@kieronparr3403]

Some of his English pronunciations are just as bad.

[@c0wqu3u31at3r]

You have a T shirt saying "Die Bart, Die" Oh no! It's German, it means "The Bart, the"

[@TheLisandro1987]

You need to be recognized world wide for the content you make. Exceptional!!

[@MrRonald2796]

I won't be surprised at all if the stadium that CONMEBOL is planning to build near its HQ in Luque is actually funded by Saudi money, as an exchange for leaving the way open for Saudi Arabia's 2034 bid.

[@Sephiroth25TC]

Mr. Alfie, to add fuel to the shitstorm, there's rumours about that the Portuguese League Cup will start to be hosted in Saudi Arabia as well!!

[@he_football]

Just as we thought football couldn't get any worse. In an ideal world fans would go out and protest and force their federations to threaten a boycott

[@markjones6564]

Outstanding job Alfie👌

[@dcapitan7]

Is anyone surprised that 🇸🇦 won the 2034 WC bid? Once the six (!?!) 2030 WC host winners...across three continents...were announced, we knew who would host the 2034 WC.

[@strikeagario997]

The problem wasn't really on the six hosts of 2030 WC, it's more on higher ranked nation like Argentina, England, Germany etc agreed to it anyway? Like wasn't England were very hungry to host world cup, and then they've got Euro's instead and then poof, gone. Other nations could challenge it too to made it postponed, but no one really makes a move so... Don't get me wrong about Saudi Arabia, but those people/nations who bemoaned about this are the ones who blamed for.

[@dcapitan7]

@@strikeagario997 No, it was not the fault of the six hosts. That isn't what I'm conveying. It's the fact that FIFA just jammed three different confederations as hosts into one WC...speeding up the confederation rotation of hosts...so that Asia/Oceania would be next up to host in 2034. It has little to do with, 🇦🇷, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 or 🇩🇪, but more to do with FIFA ensuring 🇸🇦 would host a WC as soon as possible.

[@DolFunDolhpinVtuber]

The video we were waiting for.

[@FozzQuaker]

Absolutely love these videos, calling out FIFA and the KSA and your criticism of the likes of Jordan Henderson... Keep up the good work Young Alfred

[@nas84payne]

Alfie can’t go without getting a dig in at Henderson 😄

[@DavidLimofLimReport]

Wow back to back docos about Saudi Arabia from Alfie

[@JckSwan]

But it'll be a lucrative payday for Gary Neville, and surely that's the most important thing.

[@craigmoy5428]

Beckham will surely get a gig as well

[@familyread7889]

The worlds going to be a different place completely in 2034

[@thedethrocker8858]

As It is every decade 😂😂

[@familyread7889]

@@thedethrocker8858 Hold tight. Are you ready for the ride?

[@thedethrocker8858]

@familyread7889 yea I am....you bloody weirdo 😅😅😅

[@familyread7889]

@@thedethrocker8858 No need for that. You got no idea. Keep sleeping. 😴😴😴

[@thedethrocker8858]

@@familyread7889 well obviously it was needed 😅😅

[@richardfinlayson1524]

Spot on Alfie, good on you mate, great vid👍☮️☯️

[@mudzero5884]

🇧🇬 🇧🇬 🇧🇬 Day 9 - Alfie, please do a video on the pitiful situation the Bulgarian national football team is currently in. Here are a couple of points to give you an idea about what I'm talking about: - Currently, the team is in a streak of 8 winless games, at the bottom of its qualification group for the 2024 Euro, with no chances of qualifying, after losing to opponents such as Montenegro and Lithuania. - The team's last win was almost a year ago - on 16.11.2022 in a friendly against Cyprus. Our last win in an official match was more than a year ago - on 26.09.2022 against North Macedonia. - The national football team of Bulgaria has been constantly performing bad for at least the last 20 years. The last big tournament we played was the 2004 Euro in Portugal, where we were humiliated in the group stage. - Many supporters blame the current bosses of the Bulgarian Football Union for this downfall. The most notable of them are Borislav Mihaylov, Emil Kostadinov and Yordan Lechkov - 3 players who were part of the great 1994 WC team which reached the semi-finals of the tournament. Sadly, those people's success as players has been overshadowed by their lack of capability or willingness to resolve many of the problems in our football - the out-of-date training systems, the poor football infrastructure etc. What's worse is that they refuse to resign a failure after another and they have changed the rules of the union in a way that makes them irremovable for more than 18 years. - Recently a couple of players from the next generation - Dimitar Berbatov, Stiliyan Petrov and Martin Petrov started a campaign, trying to overthrow the aforementioned but as I said the rules are in the bosses' favour. - Meanwhile fans are getting really angry with the situation and are starting to take measures. During the last couple of weeks, at many matches of the First and Second Football Leagues the fans were chanting against Mihaylov and company and displayed banners against them. Of course, the BFU fined the clubs for "obscene chants and banners". - There is a campaign on social media calling fans of all local clubs to put their differences aside and come to the Euro qualifier with Hungary on 16.11 and show their disapproval of the current BFU leaders. That's the main points, I'm sure that if you dig a little you'll find much more. Please consider doing such a video, the anti-BFU sentiments are getting stronger and we need to disturb those self-serving ex-legends in every way possible. Thank you and keep up the good work!

[@benniebarnett9944]

watching hitc sevens at 1 am in hawaii. bless this bloke alfie

[@tylerlewis2766]

It's funny that Alfie has an issue with democracy in FIFA for flaws that exist in every democratic system yet rails against supposed authoritarian despots that have the same style of democratic system as FIFA

[@harveyholmes9533]

Love the long form documentaries at the moment, if you are looking for more ideas for 7s have you considered doing ‘7 players who played in the wrong era’? I think it would be interesting to hear your opinions on players from back in the day who you think would really suite modern styles or current players who would have been much better in older systems (players who would be great 10s or great in a two man attack that most top clubs just don’t use anymore etc.).

[@dernik3797]

must be really frustrating to be another asian country wanting to host the world cup. it can only be hosted on the continent every 12 years. and if the time is tight for an asian world cup the whole federation is in the pockets of a few oil-rich golf states that want to host as well. looking forward to the uae world cup 2046. or maybe qatar again?

[@stackhat8624]

2046 will be UAE and maybe Bahrain and maybe Kuwait.

[@hardlo7146]

who would even want to host it? Japan and Korea? The other countries are either not wealthy enough to do so, or have such a terrible footy level that it would be embarrassing, such as India or China. Outside of the Arabian peninsula, perhaps Iran could, but nobody would agree to travel to such a pariah state.

[@emmanuelbanda5723]

Its weird that Africa has so many nations but gets so few world cup spots compared to Europe

[@somethinglikethat2176]

Europe is actually good at football. Same with South America. They get more spots because they are good at the game.

[@rstein926]

The chief reason Europe and South America have hosted the majority of World Cups until 2002 is because football while the world's popular sport isn't actually popular worldwide. Like all sports football is popular in select nations. For example football is mostly popular in Europe and South America (Mostly Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Columbia). Only a handful of countries in other continents is football the most popular sport. For example Mexico is the only main NA country where football is the no.1 sport while in the US it is American football & Canada ice hockey. Similarly only a few African and Asian countries like Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Qatar is football the no 1 sport. South Africa is chiefly cricket and especially rugby. In fact South Africa is one of the few countries that has hosted a WC despite it not being a football nation. Australia and New Zealand aren't big football countries although many Australian footballers play in Europe especially the UK. Aussie Rules and Rugby are the two no.1 sports in Australia and New Zealand respectively. Europe is the only continent where nearly every country follows football. Only a speck of countries like Lithuania and Wales don't have football as their no.1 sport. Lithuania's sport is basketball and rugby in Wales. To an extent the same could apply to Ireland with rugby and Gaelic football the two main sports with football third.

[@emmanuelbanda5723]

I don't which Africa it is you speak of but where am from Football is the most popular

[@PrinceTwinkleGeoff]

The FIFA World Cup has officially moved to every 8 years and the Middle East Cup happens inbetween.

[@argentinamexico3895]

Next question: why does Europe keep refusing to host the U17 World Cup since 2003?

[@Yeahitsme101]

I didn't know whether they were refusing but u17 wc is given to develop the football culture & testing infrastructure of a country for future tifa tournaments.since 2009 Nigeria, chile , Mexico , uae , india , Brazil , 23 ( Indonesia) are host countries.

[@nathanjm000]

2:06 you can add 2038 due to rotation as well There will likely be a Middle East, North America, Combined Bid rotation until the end of tome

[@uk145]

This system surely creates a massive opportunity for Europe and S America to form a new FIFA rival which they can control

[@serenakengne5835]

I saw the news and I immediately thought about you, Alfie (am I even allowed to call you so😅?) . That's why I love this channel so much, always accurate 😁👍🏾

[@anthonykeane4984]

Alfie slagging off corruption yes please

[@stephenmalekana885]

we've jumped to 2034 without addressing how dangerous the world cup could be on the US? valid points but weve seen enough Saudi content now.

[@marrymejohn]

I mean I get the environmental concerns of the impact of 2026 world cup travel but how on earth is the US hosting dangerous.

[@skp8748]

​@@marrymejohnwhat's the murder rate in Mexico and the US???

[@marrymejohn]

@skp8748 I mean Brazil hosted a successful(well okay the infrastructure was left to rot) World Cup despite having higher crime rates. Plus the idea that most US cities are war zones is delusional and Mexico is hosting games in perfectly safe cities.

[@skp8748]

@@marrymejohn lol how many people were shot in the US last year? How many people do they incarcerated? How many people were murdered in Mexico last year?

[@stephenmalekana885]

@@marrymejohn how many mass shootings have been in the us this year alone? do you think they will suddenly stop when massive crowds come to the country or will it incentivise them?

[@Lawn_Care_Lounge_tv_uk]

Very good video well done

[@nedimarnautovic5462]

Alfie legit making banger after banger❤

[@iiNeedSkins]

Thanks for covering this, most are to cowardly. Oil rich totalitarian dictatorships should be no where near football! Its disgusting and ruining the game.

[@djalland1]

"The world's baldest fraudster"! Even as a follically challenged man I find this a brilliant line.

[@rowschank]

Newcastle's official airline partner is Saudia. As of the date of publishing of this video from what I can find, neither does Saudia fly to newcastle, nor is there any direct flight from Newcastle to anywhere in Saudi Arabia.

[@skp8748]

So?

[@nettlecider]

6:53 seeing anything else than picture slideshow in Alfie's video is quite a jumpscare 😂

[@fauzirahman3285]

So disappointed that Australia didn't even get a chance after just successfully co-hosting the Women's World Cup. If only AFC members were eligible to host, it should at least allow competition among its members to try.

[@briangomez9119]

Primero Alfie, you're the best!

[@BoliveiraNTPW]

If theres something in common between Fifa and Boxing organizations is how corrupt they are. Crazy how Infantino says he is "gay" but defends countries with no LGBT rights.

[@mentality-monster]

Great video as always Alfie.

[@startobyman]

This is why many people in England are looking for to the EUROS over the WC. UEFA makes a far more enjoyable competition. World Cup is great for those intercontinental ties though

[@HarryWessex]

Definitely a Europe/South American competition needs to happen too

[@startobyman]

@@HarryWessex got to happen, they're easily the 2 best supported and stronger continents for football. Though I wish FIFA tried to invest more into Africa, there's serious potential there

[@HarryWessex]

@@startobyman Sadly that's investing into corruption too i.e Cameroon with Mbappe

[@HarryWessex]

@261i7 5 billion don't watch the world cup lol, and without Europe & South America and the odd African team the WC is nothing

[@HarryWessex]

@261i7 Try actually getting to the world cup then. there's a reason why Europe and South America has more spots, because without them, its nothing

[@nettlarry]

I hope for a boycott - what else is there left to do? These spineless mafiosi and butchers obviously don't care about fans opinions.

[@chrisgarwood7800]

You are the best man! These videos are incredible! The major media organisations should be falling over themselves to offer you a job, fifa are disgusting and you do a brilliant job shining a light into their dark hiding places, thanks for everything

[@purplerabbit638]

Honest question, why isn't China interested in holding the WC? They already have all the stadiums and infrastructure. This would be a cake walk for them. And they are in the AFC too.

[@userjfudhzbqksb7374]

Can't think of a better rivalry than alfie vs arabs

[@Freevo_Lowse]

What rivalry lol

[@Not_Sal]

It’s not Alfie eve Arabs, saying that makes you sound stupid. Stop race baiting. Alfie hates corrupt governments like anyone would.

[@mrfoofoo69]

At some point one of the continental bodies needs to stand up to fifas corruption and boycott a world cup entirely...

[@lfteschjr]

Its amazing, half of your videos makes me wanna watch football and the other half makes me never wanna watch again.

[@patrickracer43]

I swear if you look at the term "scumbag" in the dictionary you will find a picture of Infantino

[@mikexstad1121]

I think that teams that qualify for World Cup in year 'n' should be able to vote for the location of the tournament in year 'n+2'

[@marktheshark7588]

What's with all the hate videos against Saudi Arabia.Whether it's with their league or now their bid.But nobody is questioning how America got the 2026 WC.The bias of the western media is hilarious.

[@boc8385]

great video, you use of images is captivating and keeps me glued, to the topic it sickens me how corrupt football is and how nothing can be done.

[@Gavinkeenan1]

Great vid!!!

[@asminde]

the pure disgust i feel for fifa listening to this is immeasurable

[@nssportstv7231]

Cry more 🇸🇦

[@agb.88]

Hey Alfie, I was wondering... what if a lot of countries step out of FIFA because of their corrupt bullshit... and start their own football union. 1 • Is that possible? 2 • How (succesfully) ? 3 • CAN YOU MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT IT ?

[@jm-zv7mq]

At thay point you just get a situation like Boxing, where then the new organisation would become corrupt over time as well, and then you end up with 4 or 5 different organisations, a ridiculous system, and no one title holding much prestige.

[@somethinglikethat2176]

​@@jm-zv7mq let's be honest, if South America and most of Europe left they'd take 90% of the interest with them. And if they extended an invitation to the rest, I reckon most would join them. FIFA and their World Cup would lose almost all it's prestige and money.

[@ACDSHE45]

that wouldn't change that the football federations themselves are largely corrupt, the new body would face the same issues

[@Iron-Bridge]

Always thought this was a viable idea to be honest. End of the day, football is a showcase of a group pitting skills against another group with the use of a football. So simple in essence. This bloated union of men in suits and ties isn't essential.

[@fauzirahman3285]

Highly likely FIFA will sanction all those countries' organisations, and any players and other staff linked to it. Remembered Indonesia formed a league that was unsanctioned once and all players who signed up to it was banned.

[@DolfoLicks]

Another banger Alfie. 👏

[@jimelliott8931]

i just spat out me coffee well done alfie on nfantinos description

[@segafreak2000]

FIFA really is out to get me away from the world cup forever, huh. So basically we had a World Cup in a dictatorship ('18), a World Cup in an even worse dictatorship ('22), a World Cup that completely dillutes the quality of the game by expanding the amount of teams ('26), a World Cup that is just a disaster from an organization standpoint ('30) and now also '22, but even worse for '34. Oh joy, I hate it.

[@skp8748]

How is Qatar a dictatorship 😂

[@bbcmotd]

2018 was literally the best world cup ever with how many restrictions again, zero?

[@cristeromexico3366]

@@bbcmotdWC 2018 was boring as hell 2022 was better

[@kozukizaki8675]

I understand the Saudis are uber wealthy, but this can't keep going on forever right? They don't actually have an endless pool of money. There was a time Venezuela was seen as the richest country, but poor financial choices will ruin any oil rich country. How many more sporting events can they just throw money at before the populace is fed up with their standard of living? Idk, just something I think about.

[@41albertwesker41]

As saudi, we don't have infinite mounts of money.. just unlike Venezuela the choices are actually are backed up, and there always sum mons on reserve, i doubt they would end up like Venezuela

[@kozukizaki8675]

@@41albertwesker41 hopefully not brother! 🙏🏿 🙏🏿

[@41albertwesker41]

@@kozukizaki8675 agreed, thank you for understanding ^^

[@siphemanana2551]

@@41albertwesker41 is there any particular reason why Saudi Arabia is spending so much money on sport? I know it’s because of unrest and limited oil resources (or at least, that’s what the articles I read say) but I was wondering if there was something more to it?

[@41albertwesker41]

@@siphemanana2551 saudi arabia is spending money on sport for the reason of growth, we been lacking on that, and with the inclusion of stars.. more players should be more excited to play and with new generations hopefully this growth will help our sport scene exapnd on its own, oh nono, you are right about the limited oil resourcases, but nothing from unrest^^ its only for growth, yeah its annoing to have things bought away from you and all.. but i promise its more for local growth, the west media sadly cannot see it that way...

[@kashishkumari4266]

The video was very thorough and well researched. I liked it. Just had a hard time understanding as i couldn't properly catch the accent.

[@ILikedGooglePlus]

Great stuff Alfred

[@elbeillustration762]

Hmmm, you were all good until you bought Eddie Howe into it. As far as I'm aware, his only "weasel words" can be summarised as "None of my business, I'm just here to manage the football side of Newcastle United, leave me out of it". I get having a problem with the Saudis. I get the over focus on NUFC (who have zero votes on the relevant bodies), but having a go at a bloke for doing his job and not questioning his (and your) paymasters? Not cool.

[@ethandalton6480]

Whenever Eddie Howe gets asked questions about Saudi Arabia, he always says "I'm just here to talk about football," which is fair enough. I wasn't aware that a tree getting chopped down had anything to do with football, though, and Eddie was more than happy to talk about that.

[@GlassJoe1337]

At least pretend you care about the ofc. It should have been Australia and New Zealand. That would give more teams getting a OFC team either in their group or last chance playoff. Most teams would be happy to play New Caldonia in the group stage. As they are a rest game for most teams. You also get 2 OFC teams in the last chance playoff. Which is a pretty much free pass for the other consideration playing round 1.

[@0047sssss]

Australia moved to AFC because they got tired of beating everyone in OFC just for a playoff with Conmebol lmao

[@GlassJoe1337]

@@0047sssss that and like most of the Concacaf bottom teams most OFC teams used to just play world cup qualifying games and that's it. It's hard enough for a team like American Samoa to have a good team based off of population size but playing like 2-4 games every 4 years hurts also. At least in AFC Australia gets Asian cup qualifying games and the regional national cup games if Australia joins them for guaranteed games not counting friendly game chances. OFC is basically world cup qualifying and that's it. New Zealand being the only real challenge. Who ever gets paired with the ofc playoff team every world cup cycle is going to be happy. As a example I can't wait to see Honduras or Nigeria vs a New Caldonia team.

[@mellon4251]

I wonder why bigger nations like England or Brazil accept the one member - one vote system. I mean it's the same in the UN but when the USA get outvoted there by Liechtenstein und Sao Tome and Principe they just ignore the resolution and say "What are you gonna do about it?"

[@mellon4251]

Probably because they still get enough money from them but still...

[@BriarLeaf00]

Imagine a country where making love to the person you are married to, have sacrificed for and is the most important person in your life, is literally illegal. Making love with your married partner, illegal. Imagine that for a moment.

[@gothestags09]

I'm getting turned off sport in general by all this stuff. The PIF want to invest $5bil in the IPL as well, so before you know it world cricket will turn into baseball where everything happens in one country for 8 months of the year and everywhere else is just developmental for that one competition. At least baseball started like that instead of being forced into that though. World Rugby and the corporate idiots mostly in England continue to keep developing nations out by closing off competitions when the likes of Georgia, Fiji, Uruguay etc are clearly deserving. And then people have the gall to say sport and politics shouldn't mix when clearly these days top level sport literally is just politics.

[@stackhat8624]

BCCI won't allow Saudi Arabia to buy cricket since the BCCI controls the ICC and world cricket. But I could be wrong. Maybe the BCCI wants to destroy cricket in places like England, Australia, New Zealand and as you said make the IPL the equivalent of MLB.

[@saqeralotaibi4270]

Britz crying as usual 😅

[@benniebarnett9944]

imagine when the “usa” won the fifa voting rights right after they stripped the outing of bladder

[@MathiasGmail86]

Waiting for the announcement that the United Arab Emirates will host Euro 2036. Fingers crossed!