October 12 – Reports from Saudi Arabia are that about 90 countries have so far backed the kindgom’s candidacy to host the 2034 World Cup.
Following FIFA’s release of bid timetables last week and the short deadline to expressing formal interest in bidding, the Saudis moved swiftly to submit their letter of intent to bid.
Equally swift has been the mass of countries and FAs that moved to support the Saudi bid, despite there being virtually no detail on how the Saudis would host and when – presuming that a summer World Cup in 2034 would be out of the question because of the extreme heat.
The expressions of support have also been made without waiting to see if any other bids come forward to rival the Saudis for 2034 which FIFA has said can only be hosted in the AFC or OFC region.
The football federations and governments of Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are reportedly discussing a joint bid but the October 31 deadline to submit bidding intention is very short – and pressurising in the face of such overwhelming pressure for Saudi.
Those bidders have been blindsided by the FIFA announcements and its executive who appear very much to have loaded the dice powerfully in favour of the Saudis. This is FIFA’s and its president Gianni Infantino’s new squeaky clean, fully transparent governance in action. It is political manoevring at its most manipulative and obsequious best – FIFA 2.0+ in action.
The last 12 football associations to officially announce their support are Tanzania, The Bahamas, Montserrat, US Virgin Islands, Haiti, Guyana, Suriname, Zambia, Gabon, Eritrea, Cambodia, and Greece.
Greece is reportedly the fourth European country to support the Saudi bid, which is unsurprising as the Greeks at one point were discussing a joint hosting bid with the Saudis. While the Greeks are all-in with the Saudis, no-one seems to be able to name the other three European supporters.
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