Gianni Infantino, the president of the International Football Federation (FIFA), said that Saudi Arabia would host the FIFA World Cup in 2034. Australia effectively cleared the path for Saudi Arabia by withdrawing from the competition to host the 48-team competition.
It appears that FIFA itself has prepared the foreword for Saudi Arabia to host a World Cup, just 12 years after Qatar held the competition. When FIFA revealed who will host the 2030 World Cup, the process got underway.
They moved the tournament to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco after holding the first three games in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay. Thus, in a single event, FIFA effectively “granted” South America, Europe, and Africa the right to host the World Cup.
In essence, FIFA handed Australia two months to convince their government to support the unlikely endeavour of hosting a 48-team World Cup. There were rumours that Australia, Singapore, and Indonesia would submit bids for the event. But Indonesia supported the Saudi proposal, dashing Australia’s expectations.
Hours after FIFA made its original statement, Saudi Arabia declared their intention to submit a bid. The Asian Football Confederation supported them. Aside from the top football organisation in Asia. Numerous nations, including India, chose to back the Saudi proposal. Earlier, the All India Football Federation withdrew their candidature to host the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. Consequently, it made it possible for Saudi Arabia to host the competition.
The Saudi Arabian government has a broad and ambitious plan that includes hosting the FIFA World Cup. They’ve started making big investments in several sports and are aiming to become the next big thing in sports. A portion of it aims to make their economy more sustainable by diversifying away from oil and gas. Lest once their natural resource stocks are out.
Whether it is the purchase of Newcastle United, LIV Golf, the Saudi Pro League, or even the way the esports industry has shifted in favour of Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has made several attempts to seize control of sports, but has encountered little to no opposition.
The money element is mostly to blame for this. To bring these events to pass, the Saudi government has provided enormous financial support. They offered players from the best leagues in Europe record sums to join the Saudi Pro League. In order to convince players from the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour (previously the European Tour) to join LIV Golf, do the same with them.
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