In the early hours of Thursday, Saudi Arabia will be confirmed as hosts of the World Cup. Australia wanted to bid, but never stood a chance. The deck was stacked against them.
The timestamps tell the story. At 2:12am AEDT on Thursday, October 5, 2023, FIFA made an important and unexpected announcement. By e-mail decree, the sole candidates as host of the 2030 men’s World Cup were anointed: Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
Saudi Arabia’s interest in hosting a World Cup had already been well-established – but only as one of three nations, together with Greece and Egypt, which had announced a bid for 2030 the year before. That one was scrapped when it became clear Spain, Portugal and Morocco were in the box seat.And then, at 3:32am AEDT – just 21 minutes later – one more email.
“I wish I could say we could change it. But right now, that’s kind of how it works,” another source said. Not for the first time, Australia had been thoroughly outpointed by a rich Middle Eastern state whose ambitions in football were not solely about the sport itself, but much, much bigger, and being driven by the highest level of government – in Saudi Arabia’s case, Mohamed bin Salman, who has become increasingly close to Infantino.
Of more than 900 sponsorships identified by Play the Game across world sport from Saudi state entities – the Public Investment Fund, NEOM, Aramco, and Visit Saudi, to name just a few examples – one fifth of them are in football. Dozens of those are for AFC events, including continental club competitions – which means that the Visit Saudi signs FA didn’t want to be seen at the Women’s World Cup have found another way into Australian stadiums.
“When federations rely on Saudi money, they become dependent, and that gives Saudi Arabia a massive edge,” Elsborg says. “They’re not just players in the game any more; they’re the ones shaping it.”
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