Saudi Arabia hosting the 2023 Fifa Club World Cup will represent “another important step forward on our journey of transformation in football and as a country”, according to the country’s minister of sports.
Fifa, football’s world governing body, announced on Tuesday night that the kingdom will for the first time stage the seven-team tournament, which is set to take place from December 12-22.
Saudi Arabia represents the sixth tournament host since the competition’s inception in 2000, and becomes the second Gulf country to hold the event following the UAE.
The Club World Cup has been staged five times in the Emirates - most recently last year. The decision, made at the Fifa Council meeting on Tuesday, came three days after the 2022 Club World Cup final, where Real Madrid defeated Al Hilal 5-3.