RIYADH — Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman extended his sincere congratulations to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on the occasion of Saudi Arabia's official victory in hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup. In response to the official announcement of Extraordinary FIFA Congress 2024 awarding Saudi Arabia the right to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, the Crown Prince attributed this victory to Saudi Arabia's great resolve to contribute effectively to developing the game of football around the world. "It shows the Kingdom's determination to spread messages of love, peace and tolerance, armed with its great capabilities and potential. This is in addition to the energies of the Saudi people and their high spirits to overcome difficulties," the Crown Prince said while identifying the victory of its bid to host the World Cup officially as one of its fruits. The FIFA's announcement made Saudi Arabia the first single country in World Cup's history to obtain the right to organize this global event in its new format of 48 teams from different continents of the world. It is noteworthy that Saudi Arabia announced its intention to bid on October 4, 2023 and a formal letter was sent to FIFA on October 9, 2023. On July 29 this year, the Kingdom's official delegation submitted in Paris its official bid file to host the FIFA World Cup 2034 under the slogan "Growing Together." With no competing bids, Saudi Arabia's proposal has stood unrivaled, earning a record-breaking evaluation score of 419.8 out of 500, the highest ever awarded in FIFA history Saudi Arabia's proposal included its ambitious plans to organize the event in 15 state-of-the art stadiums across five host cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, Al-Khobar, Abha, and NEOM. The bid file also included 10 proposed locations for the FIFA Fan Festival, including the designated site in King Salman Park, which extends over an area of 100,000 square meters in the capital city Riyadh, as well as in the Jeddah Waterfront Promenade. Hosting the FIFA World Cup 2034 represents an important opportunity to highlight the continuous progress that the Kingdom has been experiencing since the launch of the Saudi Vision 2030 by the Crown Prince. This has resulted in hosting more than 100 major events in various sports, including the Club World Cup, Formula 1 and Dakar Rally. The World Cup will further solidify Saudi Arabia's status as a leader in hosting mega sporting events, reflecting the ambitions of Vision 2030.
