RIYADH, Aug 1 (Bernama-SPA) -- Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) president Yasser Al-Misehal confirmed that Saudi Arabia's bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2034 has received unprecedented historical support from over 140 countries, reflecting the significant confidence of the international community to host the World Cup, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
He noted that Saudi Arabia is experiencing a historic moment as it prepares to host the largest edition of the World Cup ever held in a single country.
"There is complete synergy and coordination among all government sectors to ensure the success of our bid to host this global event. We will deliver the best edition in the history of the World Cup on Saudi soil in 2034," he said in Riyadh at the official news conference on the Saudi’s bid.
He pointed out that the Saudi Vision 2030 has driven significant development and opened the doors for the world to see Saudi Arabia, noting that "The World Cup is a grand dream for the entire Saudi community."
Al-Misehal expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, for his support of all sectors in general and sports in particular.
He also thanked Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for his contributions to Saudi sports and his endorsement of the World Cup 2034 bid.
Moreover, he acknowledged the support of Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal throughout the journey of the World Cup bid.
He also pointed out that the new sports stadiums will benefit future generations, and the AFC Asian Cup 2027 in the Kingdom will provide an opportunity to test some of these stadiums. He stressed the ongoing efforts to prepare a highly capable national team to represent the Kingdom in the 2034 World Cup.
Meanwhile, the head of the bid committee for the 2034 World Cup at the SAFF, Hammad Al-Balawi, confirmed that by hosting the World Cup, the Kingdom will be the first country to host the tournament alone in its new format.
He indicated that the 10-year journey has already begun.
Al-Balawi emphasised that the bid enjoys unlimited support from the wise leadership, noting that hosting the 2034 World Cup will create numerous job opportunities for the nation's sons and daughters.
This comes in light of that 80 per cent of Saudis are sports enthusiasts in general, and football fans in particular, he noted.
He pointed out that the opening and final matches of the 2034 World Cup will be held in the capital, Riyadh, and the farthest distance a fan would travel within the Kingdom is two hours. He also said that a FIFA team will soon visit the host cities as part of the bid evaluation process.
The news conference witnessed a visual presentation of Saudi Arabia's bid to host the 2034 World Cup, highlighting the five host cities and 15 world-class stadiums as well as plans for the railway network connecting regions of the Kingdom with Gulf countries.
-- BERNAMA-SPA
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