Saudi Arabia is poised to announce a joint bid with Egypt and Greece to host the 2030 World Cup which if successful would mean the tournament being played in the winter again.
Sources with knowledge of the process say an announcement is imminent and follows talks at senior government levels. As with the World Cup in Qatar this year, if the bid is successful the tournament would have to be played in the winter to avoid the extreme temperatures of June/July.
It is understood that Saudi Arabia would be the lead partner and would pay for or at least contribute to the other two countries’ infrastructure costs. Since 2017, Saudi Arabia has embarked on a huge programme to bring sports events to the oil-rich Gulf state.
The bid is expected to be announced in the next few weeks and it would be a serious challenge to the Uefa-backed joint bid by Spain and Portugal as it involves three confederations and therefore would potentially draw support from Asia and Africa and possibly some European countries.
It also underlines the reasons why the UK and Ireland abandoned a joint bid for the World Cup earlier this year over fears that football politics would torpedo the campaign.
