Featured image credit: Royal Commission for Riyadh City
FIFA has published the official bid books for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups, with Saudi Arabia’s ambitious proposals for the latter tournament featuring 11 new stadiums and no fewer than eight venues in the capital city of Riyadh.
The 2034 World Cup has been proposed to take place in just five cities, with the bid book promising a “compact” tournament concept. A total of 15 venues will be used for the 48-team tournament.
Three new stadium projects have been announced in recent weeks ahead of the bid book being published yesterday (Wednesday). They are ROSHN Stadium (45,000 capacity), King Salman Stadium (92,000 capacity), and New Murabba Stadium (45,000 capacity). All three will be located in Riyadh.
Other planned venues in the capital include Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium (46,979 capacity) and South Riyadh Stadium (47,060 capacity). Three more new venues are planned in the shape of Qiddiya Coast Stadium (Jeddah, 46,096 capacity), King Abdullah Economic City Stadium (Jeddah, 45,700 capacity) and NEOM Stadium (46,010 capacity).
The four existing stadiums put forward in the Saudi bid are King Fahad Sports City and King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, and King Khalid University Stadium in Abha.
Both King Fahad Sports City Stadium and King Abdullah Sports City Stadium will be refurbished ahead of the World Cup, with the former already being renovated ahead of the 2027 Asian Cup. King Saud University Stadium and King Khalid University Stadium will have their capacities temporarily increased for the tournament.
Three more stadiums are also currently under construction: Aramco Stadium in Al Khobar, Prince Faisal bin Fahad Sports City Stadium in Riyadh and Jeddah Central Development Stadium in Jeddah. Aramco Stadium is set to be ready by 2026, with Prince Faisal bin Fahad Sports City Stadium and Jeddah Central Development Stadium to be completed by 2027.
King Salman Stadium (pictured), which will serve as the new home of the Saudi national team, is set to host the opening match and the final of the World Cup. All new stadiums are scheduled to be completed by 2032.
The bid book also offers a first look at NEOM Stadium, which has been touted as the “most unique stadium in the world”. The stadium will feature a pitch situated more than 350 metres above ground.
In October, Saudi Arabia was left in the box seat for the 2034 World Cup after Football Australia opted against bidding for the tournament. The bid book was handed over on Monday by the Saudi Arabia Minister of Sports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s president, Yasser Al Misehal, and Hammad Albalawi, the head of the SAFF’s bidding unit.
The 2034 World Cup will be the second edition of the tournament to take place in the Middle East, after the 2022 event in Qatar, which also built several new stadiums ahead of hosting. The scale of the 2034 tournament will be much larger, with Qatar only using eight stadiums compared to the 15 planned by Saudi Arabia.
The Qatar tournament was rescheduled for November and December due to the intense summer heat in the country, which faced scrutiny over its working conditions for migrant workers who helped build its stadiums.
Saudi Arabia has faced similar scrutiny, with the Building and Wood Workers International organisation recently announcing that it was filing two formal complaints with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) against the country over the alleged use of forced labour among migrant workers.
The Saudi bid book states: “Should Saudi Arabia be awarded the FIFA World Cup 2034, the competition would serve as a unique opportunity to celebrate the country’s commitment to environmental sustainability and human rights alongside its passion for football.”
2030 World Cup
More details have also emerged over the venue plan for the 2030 World Cup, which will be staged in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Celebratory matches will also be held in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to mark 100 years since Uruguay staged the inaugural World Cup in 1930.
Last month, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced its 11 proposed stadiums for the tournament: Anoeta (San Sebastián), Camp Nou (Barcelona), Gran Canaria (Las Palmas), La Cartuja (Seville), La Rosaleda (Malaga), Civitás Metropolitano (Madrid), Nueva Romareda (Zaragoza), RCDE Stadium (Barcelona), Riazor (A Coruña), San Mamés (Bilbao), and Santiago Bernabéu (Madrid). These have all been included in the bid book.
The six stadiums proposed in Morocco are: Grand Stade d’Agadir (Agadir, 46,000 gross capacity), Grand Stade Hassan II (Casablanca, 115,000 gross capacity), Stade de Fès (Fez, 55,800 gross capacity), Grand Stade de Marrakech (Marrakech, 45,860 gross capacity), Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah (Rabat, 68,700 gross capacity) and Grande Stade de Tanger (Tangier, 75,600 gross capacity).
The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) selected its three stadiums in March: Estádio José Alvalade (Lisbon, 50,103 gross capacity), Estádio da Luz (Lisbon, 65,209 gross capacity) and Estádio do Dragão (Porto, 51,075 gross capacity).
FIFA president Gianni Infantino had already confirmed that the first match of the tournament would be played at the Estádio Centenário in Montevideo, which hosted the 1930 World Cup. The stadium currently holds 60,000 fans but a renovation project is in progress ahead of 2030 to increase this to 63,000 and install a roof.
Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires will also be used. The stadium, which currently has a capacity of 84,000, has undergone several renovations in recent years.
One Paraguayan host venue proposed in the bid is Estadio Defensores del Chaco, which is located in the capital city of Asunción. It has a current capacity of 37,000 but this would be increased to 41,000 for the World Cup.
The bid book also references a ‘New National Stadium’ in Paraguay. It will feature a capacity of 45,000 and is expected to be open by 2028. Paraguay is only scheduled to host one match during the tournament and it is unclear whether this will be played at Estadio Defensores del Chaco or the new stadium.
Should the relevant requirements be met, the Extraordinary FIFA Congress will take a decision on the appointment of the 2030 and 2034 World Cup hosts on December 11.
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