when you think they hit the rock bottom they go next level absolutely, 2034 complot is the worst by far, no doubt about that qatar was awful decission but it had one huge plus being 32 teams world cup in one city full of fans. it was definitely fun for everyone who went there. saudi arabia cup has absolutely nothing that speaks for them. zero!
Bid evaluation report published: https://inside.fifa.com/about-fifa/...r-2030-and-2034-editions-of-fifa-world-cup-tm
One issue for Saudi Arabia is dates. The Winter Olympics are usually held in February while Riyadh will host the Asian Games that year between 29 November and 14 December 2034. I wonder whether they could host the WC and Asian Games simultaneously.
Saudi Arabia, the greatest ever place for a World Cup. FIFA’s bid report says so: https://www.insideworldfootball.com...t-ever-place-world-cup-fifas-bid-report-says/ No sweat. FIFA prepares groundwork for another Winter World Cup in 2034: https://www.insideworldfootball.com...res-groundwork-another-winter-world-cup-2034/
As much as I hated the idea of a winter World Cup the first time around, it actually worked out for the post-COVID timeline. Like, Euro 2020 having been delayed to 2021, it made sense to then have a year and a half gap until the 2022 World Cup with a year and a half after that until Euro 2024. Space out the irregular gaps evenly. Now it will just seem odd
Some of these stadiums they are planning to build in Saudi Arabia are simply insane. WC has become a huge vanity project.
Posted this in the 2030 thread by mistake- Since Fifa will do the official formality of announcing Saudi as the WC2034 host today, Lets not forget how it was the joint plan by Fifa and the Saudis all along to get them the Fifa WC 2034. Let me give you the timeline. - Spain and Portugal were expected to make a bid together for WC 2030 - A South American bid was also expected because of the 100 year anniversary - Saudi also registered interest to host the WC 2030, but it was all a tactic - Spain-Portugal were the clear favourites, but due to Saudi’s financial prowess, they decided to add Morocco in their bid to make it a bit stronger - Saudi backed out at the last moment, - Spain-Portugal-Morocco bid was the only realistic bid left now - They of-course won the bid, but Fifa also decided to give 3 games to South America as well citing the 100 year celebration - What all this did was prevent Africa and South America from being eligible to bid for the 2034 World Cup, because of Fifa’s rules amid their involvement in 2030 WC - Due to this, the 2034 bid had to come out of either Asia or Oceania, because all other continents were ruled out - Not only this, Fifa pre-poned the date by which any country could register interest for the 2034 WC - Saudi’s only opposition would have been a joint bid by Australia and New Zealand, but they didn’t register any concrete interest because Fifa didn’t give them enough time - That is how Saudi won the Fifa 2034 WC bid without any opposition because Fifa worked with them to rule out any possible opposition from Africa, South America, Asia and Oceania.
رسميًا: الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم FIFA يعلن فوز المملكة العربية السعودية باستضافة كأس العالم 2034 🏆#أهلًا_بالعالم#السعودية34 pic.twitter.com/YQJ1estnkx— الاتحاد السعودي لكرة القدم (@saudiFF) December 11, 2024 🚨🏆 OFFICIAL: Saudi Arabia will host the World Cup 2034. pic.twitter.com/QDT0E0JsoK— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 11, 2024 Besides the worthwhile misgivings about the hosts... I will say, it's astounding to go from not a single Arabic World Cup finals host in its history to now 3 out of the last 4 being played in the MENA region.
I don’t understand, why is it that we are not allowed to host the world cup? I can prepare a laundry list of why the US and others should not host. Is the summer hot in Saudi? Yes Do you feel safe walking alone at night in the US? No Does this mean we shouldn’t host it? My point is, every country will have its own stuff to work on in preparation for the world cup. Anyhow, it’s 10 years from now and we never know what can happen by then. But we will always be happy to host fans who are planning to attend the WC in Saudi.
This brings us right up to that thin, maybe dotted line between football and politics. I'll just say that it would be disingenuous to pretend sportswashing doesn't exist. Yes, and you'll face no legal repercussions for doing so. Honest question: have you ever been to the US? Just to gauge if you have a tangible idea of how many different realities in this vast country you're trying to distill into a single generalization.
With the hosting decision now a fait accompli, please feel free to continue discussion of 2034 over here.