Saudi 2034 World Cup bid gets glowing endorsement from FIFA despite constant spotlight on country’s Human Rights issues.
Saudi 2034 World Cup gets higher score from Fifa than 2026 bid.
Even though the Middle Eastern country has not yet built several of the venues that have been suggested for the tournament, FIFA gave Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid a higher technical grade than the 2026 joint bid by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Although eight stadiums still need to be constructed, the 2034 proposal achieved an overall average score of 4.2 out of 5, according to FIFA’s bid evaluation report, which was issued early on Saturday morning. Three new stadiums are anticipated to be ready in time for the Asian Cup. It begins in January 2027, although none of the sites, including the proposed 92,760-seat King Salman International Stadium in Riyadh, will be finished until 2032.
The 2026 bid, on the other hand, received a score of 4.0 despite having originally suggested 23 stadiums, all of which had already been constructed. In the end, 16 host cities were revealed for the 2026 World Cup, many of which were already-existing NFL stadiums.
“The [Saudi] bid includes some ambitious stadium projects integrated into unique locations. Including the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium located within the Qiddiya development and Neom Stadium located within ‘The Line’ development,” Fifa’s report read. It added that although Saudi Arabia’s “one-of-a-kind” stadium projects have a lot of potential. The “proposed configuration and location” would “require a reimagining of operations. Some associated unknowns or challenges at this moment in time”.
A key component of Prince Mohammed’s Vision 2030 strategy to establish new sources of growth outside of oil is Neom. An urban development in the Red Sea that is almost the size of Belgium and houses around nine million people. However, some of the plans, such as The Line. A futuristic city inside Neom that stretches 170 kilometres (106 miles) into the desert between mirrored walls. This has had to be trimmed back because of growing expenses.
“Consequently, should the bid be successful. It would be imperative to closely monitor and support these projects from initiation to completion,” Fifa added.