October 31 – Australia have confirmed that they will not bid for the 2034 World Cup, leaving Saudi Arabia as the only host candidate for the finals as FIFA’s deadline for candidate countries to express interest in bidding for the 2034 tournament expired today.
October 27 – Ex-Liverpool and England star Robbie Fowler has been sacked from his position as head coach at Saudi second-tier side Al-Qadsiah, despite being unbeaten and having won manager of the month inside of his first eight games in charge.
October 23 – Saudi Arabia is to launch an annual Esports World Cup, played across multiple games and boasting the largest prize pool ever seen in esports history.
October 19 – Saudi Arabia’s vice-minister of sport has added his voice to countering critics who accuse the country of using its sovereign wealth fund to engage in “sportswashing” to deflect from its human rights record.
October 19 – Neymar’s rollercoaster season on and off the pitch has taken another damaging hit after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee while on international duty.
October 16 – Streaming giant DAZN is building a portfolio in Saudi media rights after acquiring the global rights to the Saudi Women’s Premier League to add to the SPL rights.
October 16 – Jordan Henderson has reacted to being booed in England’s international friendly versus Australia at Wembley on Friday evening despite donning the captain’s armband in his side’s 1-0 victory over the Socceroos.
October 11 – Saudi Arabia, looking to be a shoo-in to stage the 2034 World Cup now looks to have a potential rival in the bidding process.
October 9 – Saudi Arabia have wasted no time submitting their formal letter of intent to bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup today. Last week FIFA announced after that only nation from the AFC and OFC could bid for 2034.
The dual bidding for the 2018 and the 2022 FIFA World Cups degenerated into that proverbial needle, which broke an old and unintentionally salivating camel’s back.
By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
October 5 – Within minutes of FIFA opening up the 2034 World Cup solely to countries from Asia and Oceania, Saudi Arabia became the first to announce it will bid to host the tournament, confirming a long-established desire to stage the biggest footballing show on earth.
October 4 – Neymar scored his first goal since his high-profile €90 million move to Al-Hilal on Tuesday as the Saudi Arabian club beat Nassaji Mazandaran 3-0 in Tehran in the Asian Champions League.
September 22 – Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has rejected allegations of ‘sportswashing’ as a method of improving the kingdom’s international reputation and says he has every intention of continuing to invest in top-level sport.
September 21 – Saudi Arabia drew 0-0 with Malaysia to kick off the second edition of the Women’s International Friendly Tournament in the Arab Kingdom.
September 20 – The French FA (FFF) have signed a cooperation agreement with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) that will cover football development.