Saudi Arabia bets 2034 World Cup will bring foreign investment, reduce reliance on debt

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DUBAI — The men’s FIFA World Cup is one of the most-watched sporting events in the world. Around 5 billion people engaged on various platforms with the 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the first-ever held in the Arab world. And Saudi Arabia is next in line as FIFA officially awarded the Gulf kingdom the 2034 World Cup last Wednesday. Hosting the event is an opportunity for Saudi Arabia to attract global attention to its emerging entertainment and sports industry as it looks to develop its non-oil economy. 

The World Cup is an opportunity for the host nation to promote its destinations to a global audience and often leads to a tourism bump in the months and years following the tournament. Tourism arrivals in Qatar jumped by 58% to 4 million visitors in the year that followed the World Cup 2022, according to the emirate’s tourism governing body. Saudi Arabia, which aims to attract 70 million international tourists a year by 2030, is hoping to replicate Qatar's success to expand its tourism sector even further.

“This will be Saudi Arabia’s true coming out party,” said Ryan Bohl, a senior Middle East analyst at the US risk intelligence firm RANE. 

The global football governing body, FIFA, officially confirmed Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as the host of the 2034 edition of the men’s World Cup. The Saudi bid for the quadrennial tournament was unopposed after an abrupt set of changes to the FIFA bidding process last year paved the way for the Gulf kingdom to clinch hosting rights. The tournament will feature 48 teams and is planned to be hosted in five cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar, Abha and Neom.

Reviving appeal for foreign investors