RIYADH: Saudi Arabia launched its campaign to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup on Friday, a bid that is all but certain to succeed due to the absence of any other expressions of interest before global governing body’s deadline late last year.

With Morocco, Portugal and Spain set to share the hosting of the 2030 tournament, FIFA limited the 2034 contest to bidders from the Asian and Oceania confederations.

Saudi Arabia would be the second country from the Gulf region to host the showpiece event, after neighbouring Qatar staged the 2022 finals.

The campaign is under the slogan “Growing. Together”, 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”.

“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 fulfil the trust placed upon us by more than 130 Member Associations across the world who supported our bid.”

Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform agenda, which aims to position Saudi Arabia as a tourism, business and sports hub, the kingdom has invested heavily in sport.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced a “multi-year strategic partnership” with the ATP, the governing body of men’s tennis.

Since 2021, PIF has invested heavily in a number of major sports, including setting up the LIV golf tour, a rival to the PGA, and purchasing English Premier League club Newcastle United.

It also owns four clubs in the Saudi Pro League and has lured global stars including Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar with huge salaries.

The investment has led to accusations the kingdom is “sportswashing” international criticism of its human rights record. The country denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws.

“Telling our football story to the world is of massive importance,” SAFF President Yasser Al Misehal said in a statement. “We’ve made unprecedented progress in both the men’s and women’s game, and our bid is an open invitation to the world to join us on this exciting journey.”

Saudi Arabia was initially interested in bidding for the 2030 World Cup alongside Egypt and Greece but that idea was abandoned in June, leaving the path open for a tri-continental bid of Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with three matches in South America.

Saudi Arabia announced its intention to bid for the 2034 event on October 4, as soon as the procedure had been launched.

At one stage, Indonesia had considered a joint bid with Australia, or even other countries such as New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore, but on October 19 it agreed to support Saudi Arabia’s bid.

Australia was also a contender but withdrew its interest on Monday following the Asian Football Confe­deration’s decision to back the Saudi bid.

The next step in the process is the submission of the full bid documents to FIFA in July, with the appointment of hosts for both the 2030 and 2034 World Cups set to be rubber stamped at a FIFA Congress towards the end of the year.

The next World Cup will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2024