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Saudi Arabia are reportedly ready to announce a joint bid with Egypt and Greece to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Sources have told The Times that if the bid is successful, there will be another winter edition of football's biggest international tournament. That would mean that the competition would take place at a similar time in the calendar to this year's FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which begins in November.
The report also claims that an announcement is imminent and follows talks at senior government levels. It is also understood that Saudi Arabia would be the lead partner and would contribute to the other two countries’ infrastructure costs.
Saudi Arabia's attempts to win the hosting rights for the FIFA World Cup looks set to be their latest venture into the sporting world as they attempt to invite global audiences to the oil-rich state. The bid is expected to be announced within the next few weeks and could provide a serious challenge for the UEFA-backed bid from Spain and Portugal.
The Saudi-led bid would involve three confederations and is expected to gain support from Africa, Asia and some European countries. However, major European nations are expected to reject the idea as it would once again interfere with their domestic league campaigns.
South America is also set to bid for the 2030 World Cup, as the continent wants to commemorate the first edition of the tournament which took place 100 years prior in Uruguay.
Gianni Infantino holds meetings with leaders of countries hoping to host 2030 FIFA World Cup
The Times report goes on to state that FIFA has declined to comment on the bid. However, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has held meetings with key leaders and officials from the countries involved in recent weeks.
The governing body have previously insisted that the Italian would not favor any particular bid and feels that more bids are better for the competition.
The report also stated that Infantino has close ties to Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The pair also attended the recent Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk boxing match in Jeddah.
If the multi-national bid were to be successful, it would represent the third time that the FIFA World Cup would be played in multiple nation-states. The first time that occurred was in 2002, when South Korea and Japan hosted, with the expanded 2026 edition set to be hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.
