FIFA TAKES THE BIG TOP BACK TO THE DESERT
Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 FIFA World Cup after Australia withdrew their bid before the deadline.
The announcement caps a trio of Saudi soccer successes after luring Cristiano Ronaldo to the desert and buying a Premier League team in Newcastle United.
The 2034 tournament will probably feel like a rerun of Qatar 2022 with a November-December hosting and a torrent of protest around human rights and grumbles over disrupted domestic schedules, the cost of watching it in person and a lack of alcohol.
The Saudis have an additional ten stadia to construct in the next decade in addition to the four they have already but are sure to pull out all the stops with an enormous war chest.
A successful Saudi bid was long expected after Qatar's hosting passed off peacefully and FIFA President Gianni Infantino cultivating close ties with Asian Football Confederation head Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa.
The national team, the Green Falcons, are currently ranked 57th in the world but were the only team at the last World Cup to beat eventual winners Argentina, an event which sparked a national holiday and spurred on the federation to bid for the tournament.
Now that dream is a reality.
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| The World Cup is heading back to the Middle East |
Asian Football
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile