It was reported that Saudi Arabia has withdrawn from hosting the 2030 FIFA Men’s World Cup.
Saudi Arabia was leading the bid to host the World Cup, along with Greece and Egypt.
As of April 2023, Egypt withdrew from the race to host the World Cup. Saudi Arabia is now looking forward to talking about hosting the tournament in the next seven years.
Saudi Arabia withdrew from the race because they believed that it was time for Europe to host the biggest tournament in the World.
Before the news of the withdrawal, it was reported that the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, promised Greece that they would pay the bill for the stadiums to be built.
It was reported that Saudi Arabia is planning on hosting 75% of the matches if they become successful with the bid.
Spain and Portugal have jointly submitted their candidacy dubbed as the “Iberian Bid,” while the South American nations of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay have united to present a quadrilateral bid to host the World Cup.
Ukraine just joined this proposal as well, with plans to host one group throughout the competition.
The decision to withdraw from the tournament came as a shock after the club spent a huge amount of money in the transfer window.
Back in January, Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo was the first big name to move to the Middle East, signing for Al-Nassr after leaving Manchester United.
Since then, Saudi Arabia has been doing everything possible to sign big-name players to their league.
Former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema recently joined Al-Ittihad, and he is followed by French midfielder Ngolo Kante, who recently bought a football club in the Netherlands.
In recent weeks, the Saudi Arabia Pro League has signed Eduardo Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, and Jota.
However, the current President of UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin, has spoken against Saudi Arabia’s spending.
He said, “I think that it’s mainly a mistake for Saudi Arabian football.
“Why is that a problem for them? Because they should invest in academies, they should bring coaches, and they should develop their own players.
“The system of buying the players that almost ended their careers is not the system that develops football.”
Saudi League Top Scorers 2022/23
| Players | Age | Goals | Club |
| Abderrasak Hamdallah | 32 | 21 | Al-ittihad |
| Talisca | 29 | 20 | Al-Nassr |
| Odion Ighalo | 33 | 19 | Al-Hilal |
| Firas Al-Buraikan | 23 | 17 | Al-Fateh SC |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 37 | 14 | Al-Nassr |