"Ronaldo is dreaming already", "Not corrupt at all" - Fans react as Saudi Arabia are named 2034 FIFA World Cup hosts
Fans online have reacted to Saudi Arabia securing the hosting rights of the FIFA World Cup 2034. A virtual congress was recently organized by FIFA to finalize the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 editions of the FIFA World Cup.
Saudi Arabia launched its bid to land the tournament on October 4, 2023. FIFA had given potential bidders only a month's time to submit their bids last year. Although Football Australia were expected to bid for the 2034 World Cup, they withdrew at the last moment, leaving Saudi Arabia as the sole candidate.
The Saudi bid came after an influx of investment in the Saudi Pro League's top clubs. Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival at Al-Nassr in January 2023 started the trend of global stars signing for SPL clubs. Since then, Karim Benzema, Neymar, N'Golo Kante, Sadio Mane, and Riyad Mahrez have all moved to the Middle Eastern nation.
After the announcement on Wednesday, fans took to X to react to the news. While many welcomed the decision, some were skeptical about the Gulf nation hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup. Some popular reactions are as follows:
"Ronaldo is dreaming already," a fan wrote on X.
"Not corrupt at all," wrote another.
"So obviously corruption going on here. Qatar and Saudi Arabia? FIFA love that sports washing," commented another fan.
"Bruh money money," one user chimed in.
"The greatest world cup in history is coming," wrote another fan on X.
"Wow that makes it more exciting.. yall not ready for this," agreed another.
"Ronaldo fan base already hoping it'll be their world cup," quipped another fan on X.
However, several fans were doubtful of the timing of the 2034 FIFA World Cup because of the weather in Saudi Arabia and other factors.
"It’s likely going to be Winter. Or probably they find a way around it during the summer," opined a fan.
"Let's go winter world Cup 2.0," agreed another.
"It'll be most likely in December. Anyhow I really don't care I'm just happy that my dream is coming true," inferred another fan on X.
During the FIFA Congress on Wednesday, the joint bid by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco was also accepted and they were declared hosts of the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
"Hosting a World Cup in Saudi Arabia would mean everything to us" - When SAFF President commented on the bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup
In a video released by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) after the country's official bid in October 2023, President Yasser Al Misehal stressed the importance of hosting the tournament for the nation.
"Hosting a World Cup in Saudi Arabia would mean everything to us. We are a football nation, and this is what dreams are made of for all the generations, young and old, boys and girls," he said.
Talking about the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, where Saudi Arabian fans turned up in huge numbers, he said:
“I believe the whole world saw the great passion of all our fans in the last World Cup 2022. That passion, noise, energy, and colour. I think young kids in Saudi today will be dreaming of this and, in fact, we want to help them achieve this dream in 2034.”
Lionel Messi's Argentina, the eventual champions of the 2022 World Cup, were defeated by Saudi Arabia in the tournament's group stage.