Saudi Arabia will find out on Wednesday if it will stage the World Cup in 10 years’ time when Fifa convenes an extraordinary virtual congress to decide the 2030 and 2034 hosts.
As the sole Bid, it seems likely they will, but the country has faced criticism from various quarters as they aim to become the second nation in the Middle East after Qatar to host the global showpiece event.
Hammad Albalawi, head of Saudi Arabia's 2034 World Cup Bid, shares some insight into the plans for the tournament and why the country is the right host.
An ambitious nation led by remarkable leadership 🏆🇸🇦#Saudi2034bid receives highest ever score in FIFA World Cup™️ history. The announcement comes ahead of FIFA’s official decision to award the FIFA World Cup™️ hosts for 2030 and 2034 on 11th December. pic.twitter.com/xB4mDqNQYS
— Saudi Arabia FIFA World Cup™️ 2034 bid (@Saudi2034bid) November 29, 2024
Tell us about what you envisage for the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia?
Hammad Albalawi: Our World Cup footprint will be across 15 cities. There are five cities which will host competitive matches, Riyadh, Jeddah, Neom, Abha and Khobar. The other 10 cities will host team base camps. There will be options for teams that want to stay for the duration of the tournament in these cities, or should they choose to reside in the host cities, then that is an option as well. We have included in our Bid book 15 stadiums. There are four existing venues, three that are under construction and the others that are planned with legacy use in mind, making sure that they meet the demands of the growth in football. And we always think of the fans, the Fifa fan festival sites … there are images, videos and memories that I have back from my first World Cup experience in 2006 and one that we will be very keen to ensure they are at the best level for fans in 2034.
Looks good on you, @Benzema 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eB6RJmlWo5
— Saudi Arabia FIFA World Cup™️ 2034 bid (@Saudi2034bid) December 8, 2024
At what time of year will the tournament be played? Will it be a ‘winter’ World Cup again like Qatar 2022?
The football calendar has been decided until 2030. Beyond that, that's a conversation between Fifa, the Confederations and the leagues. If we are awarded the right to host the tournament, it will be a conversation that we would welcome and welcome to be a part of, to deliver the tournament at the most appropriate time. The bottom line is, we are ready. We're ready for the world. We're ready to host at any time.
What insights can you take from the Qatar 2022?
The World Cup in Qatar was truly exceptional for everyone involved. It is a learning that we take, similar to learnings we take from other tournaments, similar to learnings we take from other events that we host. There is wonderful stuff there to see in terms of how to engage fans. I know the Argentinian fans really enjoyed their time in Qatar. We'll look forward to receiving these fans, not just in 2034 but also today. We are still making many developments across all areas. We are improving our transportation network. We are improving the quality of our accommodation. We are improving the number of training sites and pitches across the country. One very important fact, you remember the World Cup (in the United States) in 1994, right? Well, two-thirds of our population don't remember because they weren't born yet. Since that time, we have built very few additional training sites and very few additional stadiums, actually just one. So our population has tripled, but our supply to satisfy this demand has only increased by a small margin.
"You have to come and visit Saudi!" 🇸🇦
— Saudi Arabia FIFA World Cup™️ 2034 bid (@Saudi2034bid) December 8, 2024
France icon @Benzema invites the world to experience Saudi Arabia's incredible passion for the game, something he has felt and lived over the past two seasons 🤩#GrowingTogether pic.twitter.com/7yLAd9Fbyi
Has the popularity of football grown too in Saudi Arabia?
You should see us when we watch matches. You should see us on the pitch. You should see how excited we get. We simply love the game. It's a game we engage with. Around 80 per cent of our population follow the game. The challenge for someone that works in football today is, how can we take this fellowship and convert it? Convert it in terms of getting more people in stadiums, more people playing the game, more people exercising, more people engaged, getting better commercial returns. All of these are challenges that face any football country, and we are no different, and we are no different in our love for the game. So hosting the World Cup is a natural next step.
There has been criticism of your Bid due to perceived human rights issues, including the LGBTQ+ community. How do you respond to that?
I go back to the start of our current journey in 2016 with the launch of our (new) vision (for the country). We have seen so many developments. You talked about the LGBTQ+ community. We have received 27 million tourists last year, we have had over 100 international sporting events attended by 3 million sports fans. These fans entered the country. We respect the law of privacy. They have enjoyed their time, and they come and visit again. And this is the biggest learning, for people to really understand Saudi Arabia. Come and visit. Come and understand what it feels like to be in our country. Because you will be respected. You will be hosted with open arms and open hearts.
My message is, everybody is welcome. (In terms of human rights) we have followed a very public process throughout this bidding phase, we have satisfied all of the requirements in alignment with the Fifa standards. We believe always that the best way to understand anything is to come and see for yourself. So we invite all of our friends and guests and tourists and people from all around the world to come and visit Saudi Arabia and truly understand everything that exists within our country. This is the best way to have an opinion about Saudi Arabia. Today, we have a beautiful country. We have many things for people to discover, and we are doing this and receiving many guests from around the world. All of these people leave with memories, and they talk about the true memories that they create in our beautiful country. So we look forward to receiving them, and sharing with them these beautiful moments, and really looking forward to 2034 we're looking for the best-ever World Cup.
This is obviously a World Cup for Saudi Arabia but do you believe it's also important for the Middle East region as a whole?
I believe an event like the World Cup can create good across borders, and this is one of the fundamental reasons why we use the slogan ‘Growing Together’, because we believe in Asia, where 60 per cent of the global population is, is a region that is growing in the interest and engagement in football, and we believe that Saudi Arabia can play a great role into developing football in our wonderful continent, and definitely neighbouring countries. Other countries that want to benefit from this growth can also have a wonderful opportunity.
Has having top players in the Saudi Pro League helped the development of football in the country?
We are blessed to have so many international stars in our league. This has given our league more exposure internationally, but domestically, this passion has always been there. This love for the game has always been there, and it will, of course, grow because these players will play with Saudi players and give them some lessons. They will give them experience. It will help improve the Saudi players. So, of course, Cristiano (Ronaldo) was one of the first major international stars to play in the league in this era. But let's not forget Rivellino played in this league. (Diego) Maradona played, Hristo Stoichkov played. These are all Fifa legends.