FA still to decide on endorsing Saudi World Cup bid

The Football Association is still to decide whether it will officially endorse Saudi Arabia's 2034 men's World Cup bid at next week's virtual Fifa Congress.
Insiders have told the BBC that discussions involving the FA's board remain ongoing.
It has been suggested that rather than a traditional vote, ratification might instead be confirmed by acclamation - with federations in favour asked to show their support by applauding.
However, Fifa is yet to confirm this, and FA officials have sought clarification on the process.
On Friday, the DFB - Germany's national football association - announced it would vote in favour of both the Saudi Arabia bid and a multi-nation bid for the 2030 event.
The BBC has learned that FA officials are mindful of concerns over Saudi Arabia's human rights record.

However, some are also wary of suggestions of hypocrisy if the body declines to endorse the tournament, but then participates in it.
Saudi Arabia is the sole bidder for the 2034 event, while the 2030 World Cup is set to be awarded to unopposed co-hosts Spain, Morocco and Portugal, with early matches also being played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
The ratification process has been combined so the 2030 and 2034 hosts will be decided jointly.
It would appear, therefore, that if federations oppose one bid, they would have to support neither, with no separate acclamation for each of the potential hosts.

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What's the background?

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has hosted many major sports events, including Formula One, tennis, boxing and golf.
Yet the kingdom's human rights record, restrictions on women's rights and the criminalisation of the LGBTQ+ community has prompted controversy over its ambition to host the men's World Cup in 10 years time.

Last week, Fifa released its evaluation report for Saudi Arabia's bid, awarding it an average score of 4.2 out of 5 - the highest ever - with a conclusion that the tournament posed a 'medium' human rights risk. The assessment sparked condemnation from human rights groups.

Saudi Arabia bid gets German support

The DFB held a committee meeting on Friday to decide its stance, and unanimous approval was given, external to support the 2030 and 2034 bids.
Its president, Bernd Neuendor, explained: "We did not make the decision lightly and carefully examined the application for the 2034 World Cup.
"There was an exchange with many interest groups and experts, including human rights organisations and fans, on the basis of which a well-founded decision was made.
"We take the criticism of the applicant country seriously and will continue to engage in dialogue. Our goal is to work together with Fifa to improve the situation in the coming years."
In 2022, England and Germany were among a group of European teams that abandoned plans to promote diversity and inclusion by wearing 'OneLove' armbands at the Qatar World Cup after Fifa threatened sporting sanctions. The FA had spoken out about human rights in the country.
The FA declined to comment.