FIFA Publishes Saudi Arabia’s Official FIFA World Cup 2034 Bid Book

Riyadh: The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) unveiled the details of Saudi Arabia's ambitious bid to host the largest-ever edition of the FIFA World Cup held in a single country. This announcement follows Saudi Arabia’s FIFA World Cup 2034 official bid book submission at an official FIFA ceremony held in Paris. 

The official bid slogan, titled ‘Growing. Together.’ has received full support from Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. The official bid book outlines the country's extensive plans and infrastructure projects and reflects the Kingdom's historic transformation. The official bid book also provides Saudi Arabia's plan to successfully stage one of the world's largest and most important sporting events, the historic FIFA World Cup. 

On the occasion of the official bid book publication, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, expressed his appreciation to the leadership for their unlimited support of the Kingdom’s sports sector and to the Crown Prince for his continuous guidance and significant empowerment over Saudi Arabia's official FIFA World Cup 2034 bid.

"Together, we are working towards materializing Saudi Arabia's dream of hosting the FIFA World Cup into a tangible reality – as outlined within our official bid book. These plans will combine our rich football heritage with our deep passion for the game and will ensure Saudi Arabia’s success as the first nation to host a 48-team tournament in one country," said Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal Al Saud in a statement, as quoted by Saudi Press Agency. 

The formal bid book outlines five proposed host cities for the prestigious event. This includes Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar, Abha, and NEOM. The five host cities will feature 15 advanced stadiums. It is worth mentioning that Riyadh will be home to eight stadiums for the World Cup matches, including the new King Salman Stadium, which will accommodate over 92,000 spectators and is set to host the opening and final matches of the tournament. Meanwhile, NEOM Stadium is expected to be one of the most distinctive and iconic stadiums in the world. According to an SPA report, the stadium will be situated within THE LINE – more than 350 meters above ground. It will provide an unprecedented and exceptional experience for fans scheduled to attend tournament matches. Additionally, the stadium will be run entirely on renewable energy, generated primarily from wind and solar sources.

The hosting plan also includes 10 other host locations that are scheduled to be the home of some of the training camps for participating teams before and during the tournament. These cities will provide participating teams and fans an opportunity to explore Saudi Arabia's ancient cultural heritage during the tournament. The country will have more than 230,000 rooms available across the five host cities, in alignment with FIFA requirements. These rooms will cater to VIPs, FIFA delegations, participating teams, media personnel, and tournament fans. A total of 132 training venues located across 15 cities are proposed as base camps for the 48 teams, including 72 stadiums designated for base camp training sites, with referees scheduled to have access to 2 referee base camp training sites.