What does hosting the 2034 World Cup mean for Saudi Arabia?

Football’s worst-kept secret was confirmed on Wednesday afternoon as Saudi Arabia was officially announced as the sole host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup. With no other countries vying for tournament hosting rights, FIFA’s big reveal – ratified in a remote meeting between the governing body’s 200+ member nations – lacked some of the drama of previous bid processes.

But for the people of the Kingdom, there is only one fact that matters: Saudi Arabia is going to host the FIFA World Cup.

For a historically football-obsessed nation, it represents arguably the pinnacle achievement of Saudi Arabia’s changing physical and social landscape since the introduction of the country’s wide-reaching Vision 2030 strategy. Now all eyes are on 2034.

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The Kingdom’s love of football knows no bounds. It drives conversations and friendships, with 80 percent of Saudis engaged with the beautiful game either through playing or watching. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Sport has done an admirable job of diversifying Saudi sporting interests in recent years, but there is still no escaping the fact that football remains the nation’s undisputed No. 1 pastime.

Saudi Arabia’s football league is 50 years old and its King’s Cup is closing in on its 70th year; Only Japan has won more than Saudi Arabia’s three AFC Asian Cup titles, while leading club team Al Hilal is the continent’s most successful ever team thanks to its four AFC Champions League triumphs.

The world is now waking up to Saudi Arabia’s football heritage, with the rise in popularity of the Saudi Pro League – driven by the superstar arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr and Karim Benzema, among many others – putting the Kingdom’s top division on the global football map.

Documentaries like the newly released Saudi Pro League: Kickoff on Netflix and last year’s FIFA-produced Destined to Play, about the evolution of the Saudi women’s national team, are helping to shine a light on football culture in the Kingdom. Just last week, 55,000 fans created a raucous atmosphere at the Al Ittihad vs Al Nassr match; creative chanting, colorful Tifo and enthusiastic support is the norm in Saudi Arabia’s biggest stadiums.

The 2034 FIFA World Cup will give international fans the opportunity to experience that passion firsthand.

Outside of the Kingdom, some eyebrows have been raised at the bid process – in which Saudi Arabia emerged as an unopposed contender; indeed, at Wednesday’s FIFA coronation, the Norwegian FA abstained from the vote in protest at the process – though not the bid itself.

Despite a lack of competition, Saudi Arabia put together a bid that FIFA awarded the highest score in the organization’s history to an aspiring World Cup host nation. It will be the first time a 48-team World Cup has taken place in a single country, with the 2026 tournament shared between USA, Canada and Mexico, while the 2030 edition will take place primarily in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

The Saudi bid is unparalleled in its scope and ambition, including the promise of 11 new state-of-the art football stadiums across five host cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, al-Khobar, Abha and NEOM.

Hammad Albalawi, Head of Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid, has been on a globetrotting charm offensive in recent months – presenting the Kingdom’s vision to sporting conferences like the World Football Summit and to governments and sports organizations around the world. Having heard Albalawi’s pitch in person, it is difficult not to be impressed.

It is perhaps no surprise then that more than 80 percent of all the FIFA member associations showed their support for the Saudi Arabian bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034 heading into Wednesday’s vote; the Saudi Football Federation (SAFF) has already signed more than 100 active partnership agreements with other associations worldwide as it looks to cement a long-lasting legacy.

As Qatar found with the 2022 FIFA World Cup, international scrutiny is intense when you are a host nation. It will be nothing new for Saudi Arabia, which has put itself front and center of the global governance of myriad sports in recent years – though the levels of attention will now ratchet up significantly.

Social reforms and the enshrining of workers’ rights will continue to be highlighted and a vigorous PR campaign is certainly required over the next decade. It is important that organizers can show international media and football fans around the world that in Saudi Arabia they will find a Kingdom of kindred sporting spirits.

Beyond the major infrastructure work ahead for Saudi Arabia, there is major development required on the pitch too. For a generation of the Kingdom’s teenagers, there now exists the mouthwatering prospect of representing the Green Falcons at a FIFA World Cup on home soil in 2034.

For SAFF, the road to 2034 has already begun with initiatives like the Future Falcons program aiming to uncover young talent capable of playing for the national team. Saudi Arabia will be determined to ensure that it avoids the fate of fellow hosts South Africa and Qatar, which both failed to make it through the group stage of their own World Cup.

There is also an added pressure now on the current crop of Green Falcons, who have been struggling in recent FIFA World Cup qualifiers but whose presence at the tournament in 2026 is vitally important for the optics of the 2034 host nation. Saudi Arabia has qualified for six of the past eight World Cups since making its debut in the USA in 1994.

Getting over the line to return to the United States in 2026 could be a great catalyst for further football development in Saudi Arabia, which is still chasing its first continental title since 1996 and has the chance to end that drought when it hosts the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

That will be one of several important warm-up events held in the Kingdom in the build up to 2034, with others including the 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games, the 2029 Asian Winter Games and the World Expo in 2030. Saudi Arabia is also hosting the 2034 Asian Games in what will be a blockbuster sporting year.

The jewel in the crown, however, is the FIFA World Cup. The celebrations across the Kingdom that followed Wednesday’s announcement continued long into the night and although the destination of the 2034 tournament has been known for some time, many Saudis are still pinching themselves. Now the hard work really begins.

Read more: Cristiano Ronaldo says World Cup 2034 in Saudi Arabia will be ‘best’ ever