By Victor Kanayo
Egypt and Saudi Arabia may bid for the hosting of the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
In recent times, there have been several meetings between FIFA President, Gianni Infantino and the Saudi Arabia Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
Saudi Arabia has sought to establish itself as a host of major events in recent years and the FIFA World Cup is believed to be a long-term goal.
A 2030 bid with Italy was previously mooted, but Italy has since pivoted its attention to the 2032 European Championship.
Egypt has positioned itself to fill the void after a meeting of the two countries’ Sports Ministers, Ashraf Sobhi and Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, who is also the President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
“We seek to organise the FIFA World Cup and we are studying well the idea of submitting an application to host it in 2030 so that we do not repeat what happened in 2010,” Sobhi told state-owned Egyptian publication Akhbar El Yom.
Sobhi added that talks were underway Saudi Arabia as well as Greece over potentially co-hosting the World Cup.
Egypt bid for the 2010 FIFA World Cup – the only time the tournament has been held in Africa – but lost to South Africa.
Saudi Arabia is due to host the Asian Games for the first time in capital Riyadh in 2034 after bidding for a flurry of sporting events.
In football, Saudi Arabia has bid for the 2027 Asian Cup and 2026 Women’s Asian Cup.
Riyadh is also due to host next year’s World Combat Games and the 2025 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.
Saudi Arabia is additionally bidding for the 2029 Asian Winter Games, proposing to stage the event in Trojena, a ski resort which has not yet been built and is part of the massive Neom construction project.
