Crown Prince Mohammed endorses Saudi Arabia's bid to host 2034 Fifa World Cup

Kingdom expected to win hosting rights as sole bidder for finals

Argentina's captain Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after the win over France in the final at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on December 18, 2022. AFP

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman put his approval to the kingdom's bid to host the 2034 Fifa World Cup.

Saudi Arabia is looking to become the second country from the Middle East to hold the tournament after Qatar in 2022.

The bid will be submitted by a delegation headed by the Saudi minister of sports Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal to Fifa officials in Paris.

Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia launched its formal bid to host the 2034 World Cup.

After Morocco, Portugal and Spain were earmarked to share the hosting rights for the 2030 tournament, football's world governing body limited the 2034 tournament hosting rights to bidders from the Asian and Oceania confederations.

Australia opted out of hosting the tournament and, once no other country expressed an interest before Fifa's October deadline last year, it meant Saudi Arabia's bid is almost certain to be approved.

“With this candidacy, we intend to host an exceptional edition that brings together 48 teams for the first time in the history of the tournament in one country,” Prince Abdulaziz said.

"The supervision of the Crown Prince of the kingdom's candidacy file embodies keenness to move forward towards building the future of sports in accordance with the goals of Vision 2030."

The bid process is scheduled to conclude in December when Fifa officially announces the host nation of the 2034 tournament during its general assembly meeting.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said it plans to build a 92,000-capacity stadium in Riyadh that can host major international events, including the 2034 World Cup.

The Saudi sports ministry unveiled the approved design for the stadium, which is scheduled to be completed in 2029, according to state news agency SPA.

The stadium is set to serve as the main base of the Saudi national team and will be part of a sports complex featuring an indoor sports hall, an Olympic-sized swimming pool and other facilities.

"This design was chosen from several submissions by six international companies, ensuring it meets Fifa requirements and standards of sustainability and architectural excellence," SPA said.