Saudi Arabia revealed on Wednesday its intention to bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, in a step that comes within the framework of Riyadh’s campaign to transform into a global sporting power. The Gulf Kingdom had previously discussed the possibility of submitting a three-continent bid to host the World Cup with Egypt and Greece, but the plan went unheeded.
Published on: 04/10/2023 – 21:40
4 minutes
Saudi Arabia confirmed on Wednesday its intention to nominate to host world Cup 2034 for football, shortly after FIFA invited member associations from the Asian and Oceanian Confederations to submit their files to host this edition.
The President of the Saudi Football Federation, Yasser Al-Meshal, said in a statement that this nomination is “an important moment that keeps pace with the development we are experiencing in our great nation, and embodies the passion of the Saudi people for football and the Kingdom’s endeavor to achieve further progress and growth for this game by organizing this exceptional event.”
The President of the Bahraini Asian Football Confederation, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, quickly welcomed the invitation, expressing his full support for Saudi Arabia’s intention to apply to host the 2034 World Cup.
Al Khalifa said in a statement, “The Asian Football Confederation supports the decisions of the International Football Association Council regarding hosting, and we strongly believe that these decisions pave the way for granting fairer opportunities to all continental federations in order to submit bids to host and organize the World Cup tournament of distinguished value, which is considered The mainstay of international men’s football.
He added, “I am happy to note that the Saudi Football Association has announced its intention to submit a bid to host the 2034 World Cup, and the entire Asian football family will stand united in supporting this extremely important initiative for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and we are committed to working closely with the global football family for its success.” “.
The Saudi Federation’s statement came shortly after the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) announced one nomination to organize the 2030 World Cup finals, submitted by Morocco, Spain and Portugal, with three matches being held in South America, calling on the member federations of the Asian and Oceanic Confederations to submit their files to host the 2034 edition.
This announcement also coincided with nearly a year after Gulf neighbor Qatar hosted the first World Cup in the Middle East and the Arab world, when the Saudi “Green” team achieved a historic victory in the group stage over Argentina, which later won the title.
Sports are at the heart of Bin Salman’s plans
In the wake of that World Cup, Saudi Arabia entered strongly into the football transfer market, adding to its professional league a large number of game stars, starting with the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who opened the era of attraction to the Kingdom with huge salaries from the largest exporter of crude oil in the world.
Sports are a major component of the reform agenda launched by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which aims to transform the Kingdom into a tourism and business center while transforming the economy and diversifying its sources away from fossil fuels.
In the coming weeks, the Kingdom is scheduled to host the final “League Golf” tournament of the regular season, and the FIFA Club World Cup next December.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia was confirmed to host the 2027 Asian Cup in football, and last year it won the rights to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games.
Riyadh’s willingness to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on sporting events has sparked accusations of “sportswashing” or using sports to divert attention from human rights violations that always put the kingdom under criticism.
In an interview with Fox News last month, bin Salman dismissed these criticisms, saying, “I will continue sports washing” if that would benefit the Saudi economy.
The Gulf Kingdom had previously discussed the possibility of submitting a three-continent bid to host the World Cup with Egypt and Greece, but the plan went unheeded.
France 24/AFP
2023-10-04 19:40:47
#Saudi #Arabia #intends #bid #host #World #Cup
