Saudi Arabia’s journey from 90s novelty to World Cup power grab

1956-2015

Saudi Arabia’s football history is lengthy and the country has long been one of the biggest players in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) was founded in 1956. The country’s first international came the following year, at the same time as the foundation of its most successful club side, Al-Hilal (the other three clubs in Saudi’s big four – Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli – are older). A Saudi league was established in the 1970s but it was not until the 80s that the country featured in its first international tournament, the AFC Asian Cup, which it won in 1984.

A breakthrough in international recognition came when Saudi Arabia made their World Cup debut at USA 94. Qualifying from the group stages with victories over Belgium and Morocco, the Green Falcons gained the world’s attention thanks to the memorable goal by Saeed al-Owairan against Belgium, the forward running with the ball from his own half and past three defenders before thrashing home and breaking into delirious celebration.

That glorious moment proved to be a high point. Although Saudi Arabia qualified for the next three World Cups they failed to win a match, the nadir an 8-0 defeat by Germany in 2002. In 2011, the team were similarly embarrassed in the Asian Cup, a competition Saudi had come to dominate, with three defeats in the group stage sending them home pointless.

2016-18

In 2015, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud became king of Saudi Arabia. The following year he published a strategy for the future of the country, Vision 2030. A document that still guides the country’s thinking, it contains the ambition to “achieve regional and global excellence in selected professional sports”.

From this instruction, many changes followed but a further incentive to change came at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Green Falcons had qualified for the first time in 12 years and played in the opening fixture against the hosts. It was the site of the famous photograph in which Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince, shook hands with Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, over the lap of Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, but Saudi Arabia lost 5-0 and looked a rabble. This was not a result that impressed the new Saudi leadership and a process of radical reform began almost immediately.

2019

Two men began to make their mark on Saudi football and its influence in the broader sporting world. Turki al-Sheikh was the chair of King Salman’s general entertainment authority and set about a mission to bring global sport to the kingdom. Now renowned as the Don King of Saudi boxing ambitions, in 2019 he secured a deal to bring the Supercoppa Italiana to Riyadh, the first overseas football match played in the country.

In June 2019 Yasser al-Misehal was appointed president of the Saudi Football Federation. A respected administrator, he embarked on widespread reform of the game, bringing in expertise from abroad and investing in facilities. He also followed Sheikh’s lead and arranged for the Supercopa de España to come to Saudi Arabia for the next three years, a deal subsequently extended to 10.

By the end of the year Sheikh had been appointed, by acclamation, as the president of the Union of Arab Football Associations. He had also struck a “joint cooperation agreement” with the Italian Football Federation, promising to develop “administrative and technical staff and share different experiences in football”. According to research by the organisation Play the Game, Saudi Arabia currently has 48 such arrangements with football bodies across the world.

2020-21

In January 2020 it was revealed that the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, was part of a consortium attempting to buy Newcastle United. The deal was postponed, however, over Premier League concerns that the consortium was directly linked to the Saudi state. The Saudis had also been accused by the World Trade Organisation of having been behind a satellite TV service, beoutQ, illegally broadcasting Premier League matches in the Gulf.

Also in January Khamis al-Owairan, a cousin of Saeed and a member of the 1998 and 2002 World Cup squads, died of cancer at 46. Misehal received a letter of condolence from Infantino, who described Owairan as a great example of “dedication, discipline, and technical and moral excellence” in sport. Infantino corresponded with the SAFF again later in the year, praising its reforms and expressing interest in meeting Misehal.

In January 2021, despite the Covid pandemic, Infantino visited Saudi Arabia as a guest of the SAFF. He was greeted by Misehal and Sheikh, who was by now the minister of sports. Infantino praised again Saudi’s sporting reforms and hailed the relationship between Fifa and the SAFF. “Together we are cooperating to bring it to an even higher level,” he said, “not just for the country or the region but the whole world.”

In May 2021, at an annual Fifa congress held online because of the pandemic, Misehal made an unexpected intervention, proposing that Fifa should consider staging a World Cup every two years. Infantino promised to explore the idea, though it was abandoned after widespread opprobrium.

Five months later, and after a thawing of relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar – a dispute that in part concerned the now defunct beoutQ – the Premier League approved the PIF-led deal to buy Newcastle. The league said it had “received legally binding assurances that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not control Newcastle United Football Club”.

2022-23

Reports emerged that Saudi Arabia was leading a three-country bid, alongside Greece and Egypt, to host the World Cup in 2030. According to reporting by Politico, the crown prince had made an offer to the Greek prime minister that would have led to Saudi Arabia funding the construction of stadiums in the country in exchange for their involvement in the bid and the largest tranche of games being held in the kingdom. Later, reporting by the New York Times claimed that in January 2022 Infantino had lobbied the Italian Football Federation on the merits of joining a possible Saudi bid. A joint 2030 bid between Spain, Portugal and Morocco brought an end to this plan.

In November 2022, Saudi Arabia shocked the world by defeating Argentina 2-1 at the men’s World Cup in Qatar. In December, Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United and signed for Al-Nassr, receiving a reported salary of $213m a year. Ronaldo’s move generated controversy because of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record but also heralded a new expansionary phase for the Saudi Pro League. The following summer, in 2023, PIF acquired stakes in each of the Saudi “Big Four” and more than £150m was spent bringing international players into the league.

The SAFF had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the All India Football Federation in October 2022. In December, Saudi Arabia secured the rights to host the AFC Nations Cup in 2027 after its only rival, India, dropped out of the bidding.

In February 2023 Misehal was appointed to the Fifa council, the organisation’s central decision-making body. In October, Fifa announced it was bringing forward the bidding process for the 2034 World Cup and gave countries a month to express an interest in hosting. Saudi Arabia was the only country to do so.

2024

April: Fifa announced that Aramco, the majority state-owned Saudi oil company with a market capitalisation of $6.9tn, was to become a “major worldwide partner” in an initial four-year arrangement.

October: The SAFF signed an MOU with the Ukrainian Football Federation.

December: Fifa struck a $1bn deal with the digital broadcaster DAZN to show matches from the 2025 Club World Cup. Reporting suggested that PIF was interested in taking a 10% stake in DAZN for $1bn. Saudi Arabia is to be awarded the 2034 World Cup at an extraordinary Fifa Congress held remotely via the internet.