By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
October 5 – Within minutes of FIFA opening up the 2034 World Cup solely to countries from Asia and Oceania, Saudi Arabia became the first to announce it will bid to host the tournament, confirming a long-established desire to stage the biggest footballing show on earth.
“Led by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), the bid for 2034 intends to deliver a world-class tournament and will draw inspiration from Saudi Arabia’s ongoing social and economic transformation and the country’s deep-rooted passion for football,” the Saudi FA said in a statement.
“Saudi Arabia’s inaugural FIFA World Cup bid is backed by the country’s growing experience of hosting world-class football events and its ongoing plans to welcome fans across the world to the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup and 2027 AFC Asian Cup.”
The Saudi declaration came shortly after FIFA raised eyebrows across the sporting world, making global headlines after announcing that the 2030 World Cup will yet again break new ground by being staged in no fewer than six countries across three continents, with Spain, Portugal and Morocco as main hosts and Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay staging the first three matches to mark the centenary of the tournament that was first staged in Uruguay.
No sooner had FIFA simultaneously announced that 2034 would go to Asia or Oceania than Asian Football Confederation president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa welcomed the decision.
“We strongly believe it paves the way for a more equitable opportunity for all confederations to bid for, and host, the prestigious FIFA World Cup – the pinnacle of world men’s football,” he said.
Shaikh Salman – who is also the FIFA Council’s senior vice president – said he was delighted the Saudis had had announced their intention to bid.
“The entire Asian football family will stand united in support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s momentous initiative, and we are committed to working closely with the global football family to ensure its success,” he said.
“Hosting a FIFA World Cup in 2034 would help us achieve our dream of becoming a leading nation in world sport and would mark a significant milestone in the country’s transformation,” said Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki . “As an emerging and welcoming home for all sports, we believe that hosting a FIFA World Cup is a natural next step in our football journey.”
President of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, Yasser Al Misehal, added: “The time is right” for Saudi Arabia to host the World Cup. Our bid is driven by a love for the game and a desire to see it grow in every corner of the world. The Kingdom’s transformation journey is the driving force behind our bid.”
The Saudis had initially announced they would bid for 2030 and had begun engaging with the AFC on how to frame that bid. It is expected that they will still formally announce their withdrawal from 2030, fully clearing the way for the joint Morocco, Spain and Portugal bid. In return they will likely expect the support of Europe’s federations for 2034, but that is likely not assured.
What does play into Saudi hands is the FIFA announcement of the timescales, saying that interest in bidding for 2030 and 2034 must be filed by the end of October 2023 with agreements signed to the bidding conditions by end of October 2024.
Formal bids have to be submitted by July 2024 saying that the decisions on the hosts will be made at two different FIFA Congresses that will be held earliest from the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2024. For 2034 that timescales are short to prepare a bid for an event that would still be nine years away.
Despite the Saudis being in pole position to win 2034, it still might not all go their way if there is a credibly bidder prepared to take them on. As it is the last chance to secure a World Cup men’s hosting in the Asian region probably until at least 2044, it is likely governments will be scrambling to assess whether to enter at the filing of interest stage to buy more time.
Competition could come from China who provide FIFA with significant sponsorship and who, while pulling out of hosting the Asian Cup, are currently hosting the Asian Games and have previously shown an appetite for hosting a men’s World Cup. One issue in China is that there isn’t currently an FA president, but the government could very easily and swiftly rectify that.
Similarly South Korea has a major FIFA sponsor and tends to look to FIFA before its regional confederation. The South Koreans do have hosting ambition and did submit a bid for the Asian Cup hosting when China pulled out. That ambition would certainly extend to a FIFA World Cup though would need very significant government backing.
Australia which lost out badly in the joint process to stage 2018 and 2022, has also indicated it would be interested and would build on the success of the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Football Australia’s chief executive James Johnson said his organisation is “exploring the possibility” of a 2034 bid.
Johnson is well known in FIFA circles and has already written to Australia’s government urging to think bigger in terms of infrastructure build that is taking place for the Brisbane Olympics.
“We acknowledge Fifa’s communication regarding the Fifa World Cup 2034 and we are encouraged that after the hugely successful Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 and Fifa Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023, the football family of Asia and Oceania will once again have the opportunity to showcase their ability to welcome the world and host the best Fifa tournaments,” he said.
Having navigated the sports politics of winning a hosting bid, the Saudis will still have to deal with the issue of not being universally popular. And, of course, consideration will presumably have to be given to the tournament once again being staged in winter because of the heat. That is an issue that decimated the European football calendar in particular in 2022 and is not one Europeans will be excited to confront again.
The socio-political ramifications posed by the kingdom will also come into play. Saudi was universally criticised in the West for its human rights violations while its international standing was severely damaged by the murder in 2018 of Jamal Khashoggi, a US-based Saudi journalist who was a prominent critic of the government. That has cast a long media shadow over the country.
Similarly issues surrounding the status of women within the country will arise, despite the Saudis genuinely trying to bring change.
A number of top footballers, such Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema, continue to sign big-money deals with Saudi Pro League clubs but the policy of spending billions on sport has been derided by critics as sportswashing. Saudi authorities reject those accusations and say investment in sport is a key part of the country’s strategy.
They are now in pole position for the biggest prize in the game.
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