Saudi Arabia is committed to sports infrastructure
Saudi Arabia continues to develop its Vision 2030 plan, aimed at diversifying the Saudi economy so that it does not depend exclusively on hydrocarbons as a source of wealth creation.
The plan, which has been drawn up for years under the leadership of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, has proposed the development of all kinds of sectors to accompany and complement the boost given to oil and gas as the main locomotive of the Saudi kingdom's economic fabric.
Renewable energies, tourism, new technologies, etc., are sectors that have joined this dynamic with significant investment by the Saudi kingdom in order to promote them and bring about an evolution that will serve to have a significant presence and favour national economic production, together with the powerful hydrocarbon sector. Precisely when hydrocarbons may have an expiry date, according to experts, and continue to have an impact on the environment, it is desirable to have other economic resources linked to other types of productive sectors that are beneficial, in this case for the Arab giant.
The Saudi kingdom has been investing a lot of money for years to develop these alternative sectors and partnering with other countries that are experts in these areas to bring in talent and specialised professionals and to learn how to conduct these economic activities by taking advantage of their experience. An example of this is Spain, with advice in such important areas as transport infrastructure and tourism.
One of the areas to highlight here is sports. For example, Saudi Arabia has been committed to football for a couple of years now. The Saudi Arabian state has boosted the national football league through the recruitment of major football stars, with Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and France's Karim Benzema, former successful Real Madrid players, as leading exponents. Saudi Premier League teams have made huge sums of money available to attract such players in order to enrich the national championship and generate greater attraction in their sporting sector, particularly football, which attracts much of the world's attention.
In addition to the development of its football league, Saudi Arabia has also been committed to the organisation of national and international sporting events, such as the Spanish and Italian Super Cups, for example, which have already been held on several occasions in Saudi sports stadiums despite being competitions of other nations.
Now, the architectural development and refurbishment of Saudi stadiums is also being pursued in order to continue hosting international football events.
Through the Vision 2030 programme and its integrated budget, Saudi Arabia is supporting this evolution of the sports sector, and football in particular. The latest projects are aimed at improving sports facilities and further positioning the Saudi Kingdom as a benchmark for hosting sporting events of all kinds.
A great paradigm of this effort and dedication is the Saudi Kingdom's bid to host the 2034 football World Cup, which received a rating of 419.8 out of 500 from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) on 30 November, making it the highest technical rating ever awarded by international football's highest governing body for a bid to host an international football tournament.
The World Cup is an event of the highest global significance and Saudi Arabia will have the honour of hosting it in 2034 if the excellent score awarded by FIFA to the Arab country's bid is anything to go by. The most immediate date for this tournament is in 2026, organised by the United States, Canada and Mexico, and in 2030 it will be jointly organised by Spain, Morocco and Portugal.
The list of facilities provided by Saudi Arabia includes several high-level sports cities and associated stadiums in various parts of the country, such as the King Fahd Sports City in Riyadh and the King Fahd International Stadium (the jewel in the crown of Saudi stadiums), Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City, King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal City in Jeddah, the Youth Welfare Stadium in Jeddah, King Abdulaziz Sports City in Al-Sharay'a in Makkah, Prince Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Sports City in Medina, King Abdullah Sports City in Al-Qassim, Prince Abdulaziz bin Musaed Sports City in Hail, Al-Majmaah Sports City in Al-Majmaah, Prince Sultan Sports City in Abha, Prince Abdullah bin Khalawi Sports City in Al-Ahsa, Prince Saud bin Khalawi Sports City in Al-Khobar (Al-Rakah Stadium), Prince Hathloul Sports City in Najran, King Faisal Sports City in Jizan, Prince Nasser Sports City in Wadi Al-Dawasir, King Khalid Sports City in Tabuk, Prince Nayef Sports City in Qatif, King Saud Sports City in Al-Baha, King Fahd Sports City in Taif, Prince Abdullah bin Musaed Sports City in Arar.
This is in addition to the refurbishment of existing stadiums and sports centres by upgrading their facilities and increasing the capacity of their stands or the development of indoor training facilities.