The Saudi Arabian Football Federation announced Tuesday that Saudi Arabia would host the FIFA Club World Cup this year from December 12 to December 22.
The intercontinental competition, which will take place in December 2023, will be the most recent significant international athletic event in the Kingdom and will promote the growth of both the men’s and women’s games in the country at all levels.
The decision was made at a FIFA Council meeting on February 14, 2023, just a few days after Al Hilal played Real Madrid after becoming the first Saudi team to win the AFC Champions League and advance to the tournament’s final.
Saudi Arabia will be the sixth country after Morocco, UAE, Brazil, Japan, and Qatar have also hosted international sporting events in previous years.
The two most significant events have recently brought attention to football in Saudi Arabia: the Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo joining al-Nasr and the Saudi team’s historic victory over Argentina in the FIFA World Cup last year.
On the other hand, the Asian Cup for 2027, the biggest soccer event on the continent that takes place every four years, was formally confirmed on February 1, with Saudi Arabia as the host country.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has made a substantial effort to invest more in sports. This is part of an effort to diversify the country’s economy and raise the standard of living, underlined by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s vision 2023 reform plan.
