Riyadh: A decade before Saudi Arabia hosts the World Cup, the magnitude of the task it faces, including building stadiums, hotels and transport links, is becoming apparent.
As the only interested party, Saudi Arabia was anointed as the host of the 2034 World Cup last October by FIFA.
Infrastructure is a primary concern of the oil-rich kingdom, which hosts major sporting events in an attempt to shed its conservative image and attract foreign investment.
Despite its oil wealth, the world’s largest oil exporter has a lot on its plate. It has committed to several other giant projects — including NEOM, a futuristic $500 billion new city — as part of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious Vision 2030 economic diversification plan.
To host the 48-team World Cup, the country needs 14 all-seater stadiums capable of holding at least 40,000 people, according to the bid document.
It currently has two: the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah and the venerable King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, which is undergoing a major renovation.
Saudi Arabia has a well-established and popular soccer league, but among the more than 30 stadiums, many are old, small and have pitches surrounded by athletics tracks, a design that has long gone out of fashion.
“We still have a full 10 years ahead of us when the state of stadiums in Saudi Arabia will change radically,” an official of the Saudi Football Federation told AFP.
“It’s a huge challenge, but we will overcome it,” the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Before the World Cup begins, the desert country of 32 million people will host the Asian Cup in 2027 and even the Asian Winter Games in 2029, a decision environmentalists have taken note of.
In 2034, the same year as the World Cup, Riyadh will host the Asian Games – a two-week tournament with more events than the Summer Olympics and a similar number of athletes.
Saudi Arabia, where alcohol is banned, became the sole bidder for 2034 a year after gas-rich neighbor Qatar staged the Middle East’s first World Cup at a cost of $220 billion, including related infrastructure.
The Saudis, often accused of “sports washing”, can expect the same criticism of women’s rights, laws against homosexuality and migrant labor that the Qatari organizers have faced.
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With the 2027 Asian Cup looming, work has begun not only on the King Fahd International Stadium, but also on a new cliffside site at Qiddiya, a mega-project outside the capital, and another stadium in the eastern city of Dammam.
All are scheduled to open in 2026. Authorities are planning another in Diriyah, a former base of the Al Saud royal dynasty, with its design already approved, a Saudi official said.
The Ministry of Sports is preparing to call for tenders worth 10 billion riyals ($2.69 billion) for the construction and expansion of soccer halls, according to domestic media.
The World Cup Games are planned for Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Abha along with Qiddiya and NEOM, both cornerstones of Prince Mohammed’s Vision 2030 and under construction.
Saudi Arabia will need more than just stadiums, said architect Hussein Mahran.
“Factors such as accommodation and public transport within and between cities still need development,” he told AFP at a conference on stadium design and engineering in Riyadh last month.
“However, it is clear that the kingdom is strongly moving down this path,” he added.
Summer in a country where daily temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) can make any outdoor activity dangerous, with dehydration, heatstroke and heart failure at risk.
However, Yasir Al Misehal, president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, told AFP last year that he was open to a summer or winter World Cup.
Radwan Darwish of Saudi cooling company GreenAire said his firm had applied for contracts to cool three existing stadiums used for the Saudi Pro League, which has launched a campaign to attract top international players and has already attracted stars including Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
“Trying to bring Europe’s success in world football to the Kingdom is difficult, realistically, without adapting all the stadiums,” Darwish told AFP amid intense heat.
One of the biggest challenges is modernizing the Saudi workforce to handle a successful World Cup. Stadiums need event managers, security, ticketing staff, cleaners and food and beverage teams.
Lee Collier of consultancy group STRI called it a “significant challenge” to “raise and develop enough people to be able to run these places”.
While Saudi Arabia has the petrodollars to import such expertise, it also has a mission to develop Saudi talent, Collier said. “The road is not easy at all,” said Sophocles Sophocleous, who represents the hybrid grass company.
“But what gives hope is the commitment at the very top to help Saudi Arabia achieve this goal – and of course the financial capital.”
