Last Friday, Fredrik Reinfeldt, chairman of the Swedish Football Association (SvFF), announced that Sweden supports Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2034 World Championship, provided that nothing unexpected emerges in the evaluation report from the International Football Federation (Fifa).
I got the answers I requested from Saudi Arabia, said Reinfeldt.
Firstly, it's very strange that there's only one country to vote for. Then, we have different opinions about where it should be held, says Asllani.
"You know what I think"
Asllani is known for not holding back her opinions on issues such as human rights.
When the midfielder is asked to elaborate on her answer about the 2034 World Championship, she states:
You know what I think. I won't elaborate further.
Saudi Arabia is a controversial host due to the country being criticized for lacking respect for human rights, among other things.
Last spring, Fifa announced, following strong protests, that the tourist organization Visit Saudi would not sponsor the women's 2023 World Championship, contrary to earlier media reports.
Earlier this year, Fifa concluded a sponsorship agreement with the state-owned Saudi oil company Aramco. This has also been met with protests, and 130 female players from 26 countries – with over 2,700 international matches between them – have written an open letter demanding that Fifa break the agreement with Aramco.
No good signals
Against this background, it is possible to question the Swedish Football Association's stance, says Asllani's national team colleague, Chelsea defender Nathalie Björn.
It doesn't send good signals when we have had players who have been outspoken in the media and marked their stance clearly, and then we have an association that takes a different path. It creates a division. From the outside, it doesn't look good, says Björn.
She says that SvFF communicated to the players that a decision was imminent. But not much more than that.
A brief debriefing on what would come out in the media and that they had made this decision. But we haven't had time to discuss why and such things, says Nathalie Björn.
The 11th of December, Fifa will decide on the hosts for the men's 2030 and 2034 World Championships.
The hosting of the men's football World Championship 2030 and 2034 will be decided at an extraordinary Fifa congress on December 11. The congress will be held digitally.
Saudi Arabia is the only candidate for 2034. According to the Dutch Football Association's general secretary, Saudi Arabia has secured support from 150 of 211 Fifa members, reports the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, according to the online newspaper idrettspolitikk.no.
The co-hosting Spain, Portugal, and Morocco are the only candidates for the 2030 World Championship. Then, the first three matches will be played in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay in South America. This is to commemorate that it was 100 years since the first World Championship was held in Uruguay.
The championships will be adopted jointly and, according to the Norwegian Football Association, through acclamation, i.e., without a formal vote.
It is unclear whether the acclamation will take place through silent approval, yes or no shouts, applause, or in some other way.
