Saudi technical director calls on nation to host 2035 Women’s World Cup
Senior figures in Saudi Arabian football have called on the country to host the Fifa Women’s World Cup.
With hosts undecided for the next World Cup in 2027, the technical director of Saudi Arabia’s women’s football federation Monika Staab has said the Middle Eastern nation could play entertainers to the showpiece event in 2035.
It comes as Fifa left the door open for the Kingdom to host the 2034 men’s World Cup after handing the 2030 tournament to five counties collectively, meaning the competition four years later would have a preference towards an Asian bid.
“It takes time to go to the World Cup,” former QPR women’s player Staab Told the Leaders in Sport conference in London on Thursday. “I know they want to host the men’s World Cup, why not host the women’s World Cup in 2035?
“They’re going to have the women’s AFC [Women’s Asian Cup] competition in 2026 so we now have a team ready to at least be competing at that level.
“We started two years ago with a league on a regional basis,” Staab added. “You can see how our league has improved every year. Next year we will have 10 teams in the Premier League, and eventually 12.
“We have many good international players. This will improve the level of the Saudi level. In Saudi the women are respected, they are equal.
“I hope the perception of Saudi can change.”
There have been many concerns surrounding women’s rights in the country but there have been industry hopes of more liberalisation through sport as the nation becomes more competitive on the global stage.
The men’s team made history with their famous victory against eventual World Cup winners Argentina in the group stages in Qatar.
The Saudi bid for 2034 remains the only public one with Indonesia the latest nation to confirm they are not bidding for the showpiece event.
“It’s exciting, it is the pinnacle, it is the dream,” Hammad Albalawi of the Saudi Ministry of Sport said of the 2034 men’s bid. “The ability to aspire and dream that high and the ability to host the festival of football is the dream of every person in Saudi Arabia. We will give the best account of ourselves to achieve that dream.
“The beautiful thing about this is that a number of things that go into a successful bid we are doing anyway. This is about building the grassroots, international team and infrastructure.”