Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid received a higher technical score from FIFA than the 2026 joint bid by the United States, Canada and Mexico even though the Middle East nation has yet to construct several stadiums proposed for the tournament.

FIFA released its bid evaluation report and said the 2034 bid received an overall average score of 4.2 out of 5 even though eight stadiums are still to be built.

All venues — including the planned 92,760-seater King Salman International Stadium in Riyadh — will not be completed until 2032 but three new stadiums are expected to be finished for the Asian Cup which kicks off in January 2027.

Meanwhile, the 2026 bid scored 4.0 having initially proposed 23 stadiums — all of which were already built. Eventually, 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup were announced, with many venues being existing NFL stadiums.

“The (Saudi) bid includes some ambitious stadium projects integrated into unique locations, including the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium located within the Qiddiya development and NEOM Stadium located within ‘The Line’ development,” FIFA’s report said.

FIFA added that although Saudi Arabia’s “one-of-a-kind” stadium projects have a lot of potential, the “proposed configuration and location” would “require a reimagining of operations, with some associated unknowns or challenges at this moment in time”.

NEOM, a Red Sea urban and industrial development nearly the size of Belgium due to house nearly nine million people, is central to the prince’s Vision 2030 plan to create new engines of economic growth beyond oil.

But some of the schemes have had to be scaled back due to rising costs, including ‘The Line’, a futuristic city between mirrored walls extending 170 km (106 miles) into the desert within NEOM.

“Consequently, should the bid be successful, it would be imperative to closely monitor and support these projects from initiation to completion,” FIFA added.

Stadiums alone account for 35% of the overall score awarded to bids and FIFA said the level of risk in the 2026 bid was low. However, the Saudi bid had a medium level of risk.

“Due to the overall scale of the stadium projects, as well as the novel designs and configurations proposed in some cases, there is an elevated risk profile,” FIFA said.

However, they added that the risk was mitigated as Saudi Arabia have a strong team in place and ample time to deliver on the projects.

CUP VOTE

Ahead of the World Cup vote next month, Minister of Sports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, said FIFA’s score reflects Saudi Arabia’s commitment to grow the game and their “rapid transformation”.

Votes are due to be held at the FIFA Congress next month to approve the 2030 and 2034 World Cups, though each has only a single bid.

“It is the result of our extensive efforts to present an exceptional bid. It’s a testament to the collaboration between multiple entities across the Kingdom,” Prince Al-Faisal said.

Saudi Arabia is the lone bidder for 2034 while a combined bid from Morocco, Spain and Portugal is the sole one for 2030. The 2030 World Cup bid also received a score of 4.2.

FIFA said the Saudi bid did not stipulate a proposed window for the World Cup but they would collaborate with stakeholders to “determine the optimal timing” for the tournament.

Due to the country’s desert climate, the 2034 World Cup may be pushed to a winter slot — just as FIFA did with the 2022 edition in neighbouring Qatar.

Amnesty International and the Sport & Rights Alliance (SRA) said earlier this month that FIFA must halt the process to pick Saudi Arabia as hosts of the 2034 tournament unless major human rights reforms are announced before the vote.

FIFA’s bid report said Saudi Arabia submitted commitments to “respecting, protecting and fulfilling internationally recognised human rights”.

Those include areas of “safety and security, labour rights of migrant workers, rights of children, gender equality and non-discrimination, as well as freedom of expression (including press freedom).”

-Reuters

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni is confident there will be Lionel Messi jerseys in the home section despite the Paraguayan Football Association’s (APF) ban on rival shirts ahead of Thursday’s South American World Cup 2026 qualifier.

Argentina will play Paraguay at the Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asuncion on Thursday, and APF manager Fernando Villasboa warned the home crowd to wear only Paraguayan shirts as no jerseys from Argentina, Argentine clubs or clubs that contain the names of players from other countries will be allowed.

“We won’t allow the other team’s shirt. It’s not a problem against Messi. We respect the careers of all footballers. It’s just that the home ground is very important to us,” Villasboa told local press on Wednesday.

Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro said: “I have nothing to do with the t-shirt ban. I had no idea about that. I think the idea is to reduce the margin of a possible source of conflict.”

“Messi is our rival tomorrow, I wish him the best game of his life against Peru, but not tomorrow,” he added.

However, Scaloni said the global impact of Argentina’s number 10, the country’s all-time leading scorer and World Cup winner, is far greater.

“Logically, for the Paraguayan footballer, for the fan, they all want to wear the national team shirt. But Leo (Messi) is stronger than all that and there will be Argentina shirts,” Scaloni told a news conference on Wednesday.

“It doesn’t mean they don’t support Paraguay. I think it’s good that football people recognise what he is. And it’s not because you have a shirt that you become an Argentina fan.

Argentina sit atop the South American standings on 22 points, three clear of Colombia. After the Paraguay match, they will host Peru on Nov. 19.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has congratulated Donald Trump ahead of his return as US President.

The 2026 World Cup will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This marks a return to North America for the first time since 1994.

Infantino met Trump multiple times during his first presidency to discuss the World Cup, as well as talking about opening FIFA headquarters in the USA – which they did in 2023. 

‘Congratulations Mr President!’ Infantino wrote on Instagram on Wednesday morning.

‘We will have a great FIFA World Cup and a great FIFA Club World Cup in the United States of America! Football Unites the World!’

The 2026 World Cup will be groundbreaking for a new format which has provoked much discussion. 

There will be a massive expansion and revamp to the tournament, with 48 teams (up from 32) – the three host nations and 45 qualifiers – playing 104 matches (up from 64), significant increases of around 50 per cent.

That growth means a longer tournament and more and earlier/later matches every day in the US, Canada and Mexico.

The first four tournaments in 1930, 1934, 1938 and 1950 had between 13 and 16 countries competing, rising to 16 from 1954, 24 for Spain 1982 and 32 for France 1998, where it has remained since.

FIFA president Infantino was elected on a pledge to create a 40-team World Cup.

He insisted the £825million extra income and £530m extra profit this move is expected to create will trickle down to grassroots football, rather than lining the pockets of the fat cats at the very top. 

‘Increasing the size of teams which can participate will increase the investment in football development, to make sure that the teams can qualify,’ he said. 

The Trump administration promised back in 2018 that there would be no discrimination against fans from any country wanting to visit the World Cup.

His own level of engagement with football or ‘soccer’ is unknown, but he did, rather bewilderingly, help in the Carabao Cup draw in 1991 on the Saint & Greavsie show. 

There will be 12 groups of four teams. That necessitates a massive number of extra games (104), rather than the 80 there would have been with 16 groups of three.

The European Club Association did not support the move because of fears of the effect a significantly bigger and longer tournament would have on squeezing domestic fixtures for clubs.

The 2026 tournament is set to continue for 39 days, a week more than in 2010, 2014 and 2018 and 10 days more than in Qatar, which will squeeze domestic campaigns.  In 2018, countries had 25 days between the end of the domestic season to prepare for the start of the tournament. For 2026, that period is just 16 days.