Saudi Arabia ready to host 2034 FIFA World Cup, launches official bid with campaign slogan 'Growing. Together'

Saudi Arabia ready to host 2034 FIFA World Cup, launches official bid with campaign slogan 'Growing. Together'

Saudi Arabia ready to host 2034 FIFA World Cup, launches official bid with campaign slogan 'Growing. Together'

Saudi Arabia could soon become the fourth Asian country to host the FIFA World Cup after the nation officially launched its bid on Friday (Mar 1). Saudi Arabia is now the front-runner to secure the rights to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup after FIFA had earlier announced them as the only candidate. The bid was made officially under the campaign slogan “Growing. Together" as Saudi Arabia intends to replicate its gulf neighbourQatar, which hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

Saudi Arabia bids for FIFA World Cup

"This campaign is powered by the hopes and dreams of 32 million people in Saudi Arabia," the head of the SAFF bid unit, Hammad Albalawi, said in a statement.

"Our responsibility is to submit the best possible bid to FIFA, make our country proud, and fulfill the trust placed upon us by more than 130 Member Associations across the world who supported our bid," it added.

After a decent success during the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, Saudi Arabia did not hide its intentions and announced its desire to host the most-watched event on the planet. In the build-up to the official bid, Saudi Arabia has been preparing itself with lucrative football brands in the nation andrevamping theSaudi Pro League (SPL), where some of the best players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Karim Benzema and others are applying their trade.

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) revealed its bid logo, website, as well as a short bid film that celebrates "the passion, spirit and diversity of football in Saudi Arabia".

The Saudi Kingdom has made significant investments in sports as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 reform drive, which wants to establish Saudi Arabia as a hub for commerce, tourism and sports.

The men's tennis governing body, the ATP, and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced a "multi-year strategic partnership" on Wednesday.

Since 2021, PIF has made significant investments in several major sports, such as the establishment of the LIV golf circuit, which is a competitor to the PGA, and the acquisition of Newcastle United, an English Premier League team.

About the Author

Parth Seth is a research fellow at India Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, where he studies the themes of development, foreign policy, and multilateralism, particularly in ...Read More