MIKE KEEGAN: All the glamour and glitz at the 2034 FIFA World Cup in Saudi Arabia… but there will be no booze for fans

• FIFA has confirmed Saudi Arabia as the sole bidder for the 2034 World Cup
• Saudi Arabia is committing vast sums on infrastructure ahead of the tournament
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’ 

Even before FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed it, they’d been planning for a World Cup in Saudi Arabia. The truth is that they had been doing so for some time.

As you read this, unimaginable sums are being spent in a land where money is no object.

In Dammam, close to the border with Bahrain, work has commenced on a stadium which will be finished in time for the 2027 Asian Cup and which will no doubt play a key role 11 years from now.

Significant upgrades are being carried out to another two stadiums in Riyadh and one in Jeddah. More will follow.

A vast, futuristic metro system for Riyadh, which is likely to be the main hub of the tournament, is also under construction. The cost? More than £18billion.

FIFA have confirmed Saudi Arabia as the sole bidding nation for the 2034 World Cup

Saudi Arabia are making significant investments into stadiums ahead of the 2034 World Cup

Vast infrastructure projects are currently underway in a nation where money is no object

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Over at Riyadh’s airport, a seen-to-be-believed extension is under way as part of a mega-project that will involve no fewer than six new runways built.

They are expecting 120 million passengers a year by 2030. To put it into context, that is close to twice the number who passed through Heathrow last year.

With 11 years to go, there is one thing you can say with certainty — Saudi will be ready.

This will be a glitzy, glamorous event with world-leading facilities backed by state-of-the-art infrastructure. However, there are questions which need to be answered. It remains to be seen whether fans will be allowed to drink alcohol in stadiums.

In Qatar, infamously, a late U-turn by organisers ensured that would not be the case. However, booze was readily available — albeit at an almighty cost — in many of the hotels around Doha.

Some even had sports-themed bars in which punters could sink £10 pints of Heineken while watching World Cup matches.

It was a similar story on the cruise liners anchored off the Corniche which hosted many of the players’ families and friends.

But Saudi is more conservative than its neighbour. In my two weeks there earlier this year at the start of the Pro League season, the only mention of alcohol came from those working the doors of hotels, who whispered to tourists that they could get their hands on moonshine.

Saudi Arabia’s neighbour Qatar banned alcohol in World Cup stadiums in a last minute U-turn 

Saudi Arabia has an established football culture and is likely to see well attended matches

Locals believe modernisation is needed by feel strides have been made under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Hotel restaurants served cocktails without the kick. There were no bars in any of the places where I stayed across Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.

In the gated compounds, where many of the westerners live, I was told booze is slightly more accessible but again, it tended to be of the homemade variety.

Saudi has an edge on Qatar in terms of numbers and football culture. Its population of close to 36m dwarfs Qatar’s 2.7m. This is a football country with a football culture.

One imagines matches will be well attended across the board. The interest is there and the atmosphere in the grounds can be raucous.

There is huge interest in the Premier League. Hearing I was from near Manchester, the first question would often be, ‘United or City?’

Most of those I encountered were welcoming and keen to showcase their country.

There was also an acceptance that modernisation is needed and a view that huge strides had been made under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

However, as with Qatar, there may well be issues over how welcoming the experience is for all, including members of the LGBTQ+ community.

No doubt there will be promises made ahead of the tournament — but there will be understandable uneasiness that is unlikely to fade over the next decade.

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

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