MANY lives will be put at risk by the decision to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, human rights campaign group Amnesty International warned today.

The Middle East nation was officially confirmed as hosts at an online Fifa Congress this afternoon.

Securing the tournament is arguably the most significant sporting step taken so far by Saudi Arabia, which has been accused of efforts to “sportswash” its reputation through linking itself to major competitions, clubs and events.

Amnesty and other human rights groups have warned about what they see as the multiple risks attached to a Saudi World Cup, and believe Fifa has failed to learn lessons from handing the 2022 event to Qatar.

“Fifa’s reckless decision to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without ensuring adequate human rights protections are in place will put many lives at risk,” Amnesty’s head of labour rights and sport Steve Cockburn said.

“Based on clear evidence to date, Fifa knows workers will be exploited and even die without fundamental reforms in Saudi Arabia, and yet has chosen to press ahead regardless.

“The organisation risks bearing a heavy responsibility for many of the human rights abuses that will follow.”

A 2022 World Cup legacy fund announced by Fifa last month made no mention of compensation to Qatar’s migrant workers, despite a report from one of Fifa’s own sub-committees concluding that the global governing body and the host nation had a “shared responsibility” to remedy the mistreatment of workers.

“Fifa must urgently change course and ensure that the World Cup is accompanied by wide-ranging reforms in Saudi Arabia, or risk a decade of exploitation, discrimination and repression connected to its flagship tournament,” Cockburn said.

The Congress also awarded the 2030 World Cup to principal co-hosts Morocco, Portugal and Spain, with the opening three matches of the centenary tournament to be staged in South America.

Cockburn said the bidding process for that tournament had also been “flawed” and left “significant human rights risks unaddressed.”

“From excessive policing and forced evictions to workers’ rights and legalised discrimination, there remains a huge amount to do to ensure the 2030 tournament can be enjoyed by everyone in full respect of their rights,” he said.

Ronan Evain, the executive director of Football Supporters Europe (FSE), said of the 2034 decision: “Today is a dark day for human rights and football as a whole.

“This decision is scandalous and yet another example of how fans’ concerns about tournaments we are travelling to are repeatedly ignored.

“Fifa and its affiliated associations seem to have learnt nothing from the mistakes of the past and are not even able to comply with their own regulations regarding human rights.”