RIYADH: Unpack those green scarves and replica shirts — the football World Cup, the biggest sports show on Earth, is coming to Saudi Arabia.
The Kingdom is the only remaining bidder for the 2034 tournament after sole rivals Australia pulled out, the sport’s world governing body FIFA said on Tuesday.
The decision will be ratified officially at a special FIFA congress at the end of next year. Saudi Arabia had initially been 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 by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with three matches in South America.
The Kingdom said on Oct. 4 that it would bid for the 2034 event, minutes after the process was launched. As a result of the tournament’s continental rotation, FIFA invited only member countries of the Asian and Oceanian confederations to apply.