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AFTER being confirmed as the host of the 2034 men’s football World Cup yesterday, Saudi Arabia will throw tens of billions of pounds at insane building projects – including an entire mega-city.
In preparation, the Saudis have unveiled plans to build or upgrade 15 futuristic stadiums – 11 of which will be entirely new.
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PAShiny mock-ups of the stadiums show ridiculous, sci-fi structures, but human rights groups warn they will come at the cost migrant workers’ lives.
The election of Saudi Arabia as World Cup hosts has sparked fierce criticism relating to its human rights record and the fairness of the bidding process.
In order to quiet misgivings and prove itself a worthy host, the Gulf nation seems to be planning to build its way into the world’s good books.
Eight stadiums will be in the capital Riyadh, four in Jeddah, and one in each of Al Khobar, Abha, and Neom.
Neom is the brand new £1 trillion desert mega-city the county is planning to build from scratch – and half of which will be floating in the ocean.
There have been concerns, however, that the city will not be finished in time.
They are also promising to whip up the world’s biggest airport, King Fahd International Airport, which is due to open in 2030.
In a recorded package posted to X, Cristian Ronaldo said: “It’s amazing.
“The infrastructure, the stadiums, the conditions for the fans and everything.
“After what I see, I’m more convinced that 2034 will be the best World Cup ever.”
Many other voices, however have accused the country of “sports washing”, to which the Saudi Prince said last year: “I don’t care.”
One of the most outlandish schemes is for the Neom Stadium, in the brand new city, where the pitch will be 350 metres in the air above a working marina.
The Saudis have touted it as “the most unique stadium in the world”.
Another, the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium, near the capital Riyadh, is a futuristic design perched on top of a 200-metre-high cliff.
The arena will have stands on three sides, and a massive retractable LED wall on the fourth.
Another of the most ambitious projects is the Roshn Stadium.
The design resembles numerous vast shards of crystal-like structures protruding into the sky, which will glow at night.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the investment fund is still looking for contractors to build the crackpot.
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The kingdom plans to spend tens of billions of pounds on works related to the World Cup as part of the crown prince’s colossal Vision 2030 project.
The all-encompassing scheme aims to modernize Saudi society and the economy, driven by the sovereign Public Investment Fund of over £700 billion.
Sport is at the heart of the nation’s plans to reimagine itself, which is why the Saudi government was so eager to host the World Cup.
The nation was confirmed by FIFA as host of the 2034 men’s football World Cup yesterday – the biggest reward yet for the mega-rich kingdom splashing out on sport.
Despite Saudi Arabia being the only nomination for the 2034 competition, the award was met with enthusiastic applause
This might have had something to do with FIFA president Gianni Infantino telling the on-screen officials behind him to clap “near your head” and “nod”.
The clapping delegates were from over 200 of the 211 FIFA Member Associations, who beamed into the online meeting hosted in Zurich by Infantino.
“Wonderful, wonderful,” Infantino beamed.
“The vote of the congress is loud and clear.”
Saudi Arabia’s election as host has raised eyebrows to say the least.
There have been accusations that Infantino personally engineered the process to be a one-horse race – which has drawn comparisons with FIFA’s disgraced ex-leader Sepp Blatter.
Then there is the country’s human rights record – Amnesty International said awarding the tournament to Saudi “represents a moment of great danger for human rights”.
FIFA accepted very little scrutiny of Saudi Arabia’s human rights campaign during the bid, and brushed over a request from the Norwegian delegate to air his concerns during the ceremony yesterday.
Saudi and international rights groups and activists warned FIFA has not learned the lessons of Qatar’s much-criticised preparations to host the 2022 World Cup.
Steve Cockburn, head of Amnesty’s labour rights and sport, said: “At every stage of this bidding process, FIFA has shown its commitment to human rights to be a sham.”
The Saudi tournament is likely to be played over 38 days from the start of January 2034 to avoid a clash with the Islamic Holy month of Ramadan in November and December.
This means it will become the second ever winter World Cup, after Qatar 2022.
Europe’s biggest leagues, fearful of seven weeks of no club football to accommodate the event, are certain to try to block it from being played in the middle of the season.
Also allocated yesterday was the host of the 2030 World Cup tournament.
Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host the competition, with one of the 104 games also played in each of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
As with the 2034 competition, there was only one candidate to choose from.
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