Saudi Arabia scored a big win in its campaign to attract major sports events to the kingdom when it was formally named as the 2034 men's soccer World Cup host on December 11. For the last year, there hasn't been too much doubt that Saudi Arabia would be confirmed as host, as the only other contender — Australia — had withdrawn from the contest to host the World Cup. Awarding the tournament to Saudi Arabia has been seen as controversial by some soccer observers. That's mostly because of the country's human rights record. Some have said that Saudi Arabia is using sports to divert attention from social or environmental problems, something that's known as sportswashing. Saudi Arabia has denied this is the case. The World Cup may be a number of years away but there are a lot of questions that need to be answered about the tournament, from where games will be played to how workers' rights will be protected. Saudi Arabia aims to host all 104 games, though there has been speculation that some games could be played in neighboring or nearby countries. Currently, 15 stadiums have been proposed, although eight are still on paper. They include a 92,000-seat venue planned in Riyadh and another near the capital that's set to be on top of a 200-meter cliff. The timing may also be an issue. The tournament may have to be moved from the traditional period of June and July to the cooler months of November and December. This also happened for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, although it wasn't a move that was popular among European soccer clubs, who had their domestic seasons interrupted. The question of workers' rights was also discussed before and during the competition in Qatar. Saudi Arabia has promised to reform and enforce labor laws, and fully respect migrant workers, but some human rights groups are skeptical. In the meantime, there are still World Cups in 2026 and 2030 to think about!