In its efforts to stage the 2034 World Cup, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has submitted bid to stage the world’s football most glamorous competition.
Saudi Arabia has submitted a letter of intent to that effect.
The World Cup has been long coveted by Saudi Arabia so the Kingdom’s bid was already relatively advanced, with the country announcing last month that it was ending its interest in jointly hosting the 2030 tournament with Egypt and Greece to focus on 2034 instead.
A joint bid from Spain, Portugal and Morocco has been named as the sole candidate for 2030 – and will be awarded the tournament if approved by the FIFA Congress in Bangkok next year, something which will almost certainly happen.
It means Saudi Arabia has a seemingly clear path to hosting the 2034 tournament, with FIFA facing criticism for allegedly fast-tracking the process in their favour.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria and Saudi Arabia senior national team will clash on Friday in an international friendly at the Estadio Municipal de Portimao, Portugal.
It is the second-ever clash between both countries. Both teams battled to a scoreless draw in a pre-2010 World Cup friendly game at the Alpenstadion in Wattens, Austria on May 25, 2010.
According to a statement from the Saudi Arabian Football Federation signed by its president, Yasser Al Misehal, “Last week we announced our ambitions to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, and this official submission continues our journey to make the dreams of our people a reality.
“We are extremely committed to presenting the most competitive bid possible that will also help unite the world through football.”
SAFF declared their intention last Wednesday to bid for the tournament, with over 70 FIFA Member Associations from across different continents have publicly pledged their support for the kingdom.
Last week, FIFA named Morocco, Spain and Portugal as co-hosts of the 2030 World Cup, with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay hosting the opening matches to mark the tournament’s centenary.