A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 FIFA World Cup. It's a huge moment for the country, as it undergoes a sweeping economic and cultural transformation while swinging its doors open to tourists. Here's NPR's international correspondent, Aya Batrawy.
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GIANNI INFANTINO: Saudi Arabia.
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UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL GROUP: (Singing in Arabic).
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Saudi Arabia was expected to win its bid to host the games. It was the only country in the running. Even so, excitement, national pride and fervor has been whipped up.
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BATRAWY: Saudi men in long, white robes and traditional headdresses swayed back and forth to a livestream audience after the announcement. They sang in praise of King Salman, the country's aging monarch, and for his 39-year-old son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL GROUP: (Singing in Arabic).
BATRAWY: This moment is his as much as it is one for the country, where most of the population are young, in need of jobs and housing and excited by the rapid changes he's ushered in. No longer are women banned from sports stadiums, driving or traveling abroad without male permission. Movie theaters, raves and women's sports are all welcome in this new Saudi Arabia. But a simultaneous crackdown on the activists who'd long called for these changes highlights the prince's zero tolerance for free speech or criticism. Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal says Saudi Arabia's investments in sports is actually a tool for change. In this video for FIFA, he says it's about, quote, "growing together."
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ABDULAZIZ BIN TURKI AL-FAISAL: We are working hard to diversify our economy. We are opening up to the world and, most importantly, creating a better way of life for everyone in the country.
BATRAWY: Well, not everyone, according to rights groups. South Asian migrant workers will be tasked with building the stadiums and infrastructure needed for the World Cup. Human Rights Watch's Michael Page says, despite recent labor reforms...
MICHAEL PAGE: Human Rights Watch has found that migrant workers are facing widespread abuses in Saudi Arabia, some of which may amount to situations of forced labor.
BATRAWY: FIFA says the decade between now and when the games are played in Saudi Arabia offer, quote, "good potential for the tournament to serve as a catalyst for future reforms." Aya Batrawy, NPR News, Dubai.
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