August 2 – Saudi Arabia is planning major stadium construction with eight new venues to be built as part of the plan to deliver the 2034 World Cup.
Following the submission of its bid book, the Arab Kingdom has proposed 15 venues for the 48-team team tournament, with the capital Riyadh set to be home to eight stadiums.
The King Salman Stadium, a 92,000-seat venue, serving as the national stadium, would host the final. Jeddah, the host of the 2023 Club World Cup, is previewed to have four stadiums. Al Khobar, Abha and Neom will serve as other host cities.
In Neom, a centerpiece of Saudi Arabia’s vision for the future and diversification away from oil, the World Cup venue is planned in the first district of The Line, a futuristic linear city, 350 meters above sea level.
Construction plans in Neom have an estimated cost of $1.5 trillion, but Bloomberg reported recently that plans for The Line have been scaled back.
The bid book did not detail a budget for the tournament or project revenue.
Qatar spent an estimated $220 billion to host the 2022 World Cup, the first global finals in the Middle East.
That tournament was staged in the winter, leading to friction over the international match calendar. The Saudi bid plans have not pinned down an exact time window for the competition to be played in, but simply propose consultation with the stakeholders.
Qatar also faced major scrutiny over its human rights record and treatment of migrant workers who built the infrastructure for the tournament.
Saudi Arabia also applies the kafala system and while Saudi Arabia have mapped out a human rights strategy, ‘independently’ assessed by law firm Clifford Chance, doubts exist over whether the bidders will be prepared to commit to serious reform.
Saudi Arabia referred to its own state agencies and the International Labour Organization (ILO), a UN body that received criticism for its role in Doha in the leadup to the World Cup. At the same time, Clifford Chance’s website suggests a strong working relationship with Saudi government institutions. The law firm served as an advisor to Qatar World Cup organisers.
In a statement, Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Labour Rights and Sport, said: “Saudi Arabia’s World Cup human rights plan says nothing about the brutal muzzling of human rights activists or criminalization of LGBTI people, nor does it outline whether or how it will put an end in practice to the abusive Kafala system that exploits migrant workers. It is astonishing that such blatant risks can be so flagrantly ignored.”
In December, FIFA will stage an extraordinary congress online to confirm Saudi Arabia as the host nation of the 2034 World Cup.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has long nurtured a relationship with the Saudis and in one of the more audacious political manoeuvers of our time, FIFA and its president cleared the way for the Arab Kingdom to be the sole bidder for the 2034 tournament after awarding to hosting rights to the 2030 finals to six countries on three continents.
At the presentation of the bid book in Paris, Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) president Yasser Al Mishehal said Saudi Arabia wanted to ‘astonish’ the world. In the bid plans, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman invites everyone to grow together.
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