SAUDI ARABIA are hoping to make a brand new mega city the centre-piece of their 2034 World Cup bid.
The city of Neom was announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2017 as part of the country’s Vision 2030, with the aim to complete construction by the end of the decade.
Neom is located near the Red Sea and will have a floating industrial centre and port city.
Its mountainous surrounding climes also means the city has a varied climate – with a mountainous ski resort called Trojena set to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games.
An airport will also be built to connect the city to the rest of the world.
But the most striking thing about Neom is a mirrored megastructure called The Line.
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The Line is a a 110-mile, 500m tall and 200m wide mirrored building that will connect Neom to the rest of the kingdom.
The linear structure will function as one massive city, with Neom’s publicity website claiming residents will be able to get everything they need for daily essentials “within a five minute walk.”
Residents will not have cars and energy will come from solar and wind sources.
Saudi figures have already begun contacting senior figures in the European game in the hope of gaining backing for their 2034 bid according to The Times.
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It was assumed that a Saudi World Cup would take place in winter, just like the Qatar 2022 due to Saudi Arabia’s warm climate.
But Saudi officials are hopeful that Neom’s mountainous surroundings can be used to create stadia in cooler climes, allowing the World Cup to go into its traditional summer slot.
However a winter tournament has also not been ruled out and could take place between November and December, as Qatar 2022 did.
There is apprehension from European states over backing the Saudi 2034 bid, however, due to the country’s human rights record.
Saudi had hoped to garner support by withdrawing from the running to host the 2030 tournament, with the joint bid from Spain, Portugal and Morocco believed to be the current front-runner.
And while that effort is believed to have been unsuccessful, the Saudis have made contact with other confederations to secure support.
The Saudis have been particularly zealous in garnering support from the African and Oceanic confederations – and have signed “memorandums of understanding” with Euador, Ghana, India and Singapore among others.
But even if successful a Saudi Arabia bid would likely face backlash from the wider football community similar to that of Qatar due to the country’s human rights record and criminalisation of homosexuality.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
