A “secret” Saudi Arabian plan for the 2030 World Cup, also affecting our country after a meeting between Mohammed bin Salman and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is being revealed by Politico, according to NEWS247.
According to an exclusive publication of the website www.politico.com, Saudi Arabia intends to build three stadiums in Greece to claim the 2030 World Cup.
As we previously reported, Saudi Arabia is preparing a joint bid with Egypt and Greece to win the World Cup, which will be held in seven years, and to make this bid even stronger, it is ready to close three new stadiums in Greece build.
According to NEWS247 Politiko reports:
“In a revealing publication that definitely needs clarification from the side of the Greek government, Politico spoke of a ‘secret’ plan by Saudi Arabia to host the 2030 World Cup and involve our country in it.
According to the website, which quoted a senior official with knowledge of the matter, Saudi Arabia has promised Greece and Egypt to pay for the construction of new state-of-the-art stadiums in exchange for their participation in the country’s bid to host the football stadium for the event to be held in will take place for seven years.
Specifically, he explains that in the talks between Mohammed Bin Salman and Kyriakos Mitsotakis at their meeting last summer, the Saudis made an offer to our country worth billions, which in turn (together with Egypt) has to co-sign for the “purchase” of the World Cup by Saudi -Arabia with the participation of both countries.
Politico even quotes a second source close to the private talks as revealing that Saudi Arabia intends to cover all hosting costs for Greece and Egypt on the condition that 75% of the event takes place in the Gulf state.
Although it is not known whether the offer was accepted by both our country and Egypt, the site notes that the three countries are in contact and evoke different reactions, especially in Greece. And that’s because, as Politico points out, Saudi Arabia is “using its astronomical wealth to buy the World Cup, forming a cross-continental coalition to cleverly exploit the electoral system.”
By doing so, he adds, he would convince FIFA of the benefits of “geographical balance” of co-hosting the World Cup on three different continents, while their main rivals are a joint bid by Spain, Portugal and Ukraine from Europe and a South American Offer from Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile.
“New world order”
According to Politico, hosting the World Cup would be the culmination of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious strategy to dominate major sporting events: from hosting boxing matches to the World Cup, to hosting Formula One and golf.
The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund has also bought an English football club while the country will host the Asian Cup for the first time in 2027.
But Saudi Arabia’s desire to host the World Cup goes beyond sporting prestige, according to a regional expert.
“Saudi Arabia is trying to strategically position itself as an Afro-Eurasian hub – the center of a new world order”said Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economics at Skema Business School in Paris, of the Saudi bid. “This positioning will allow it to have a significant impact over a vast geographic area.”
“Holding a multipolar World Cup with Egypt and Greece would not be altruism or megalomania. Instead, it would be part of a larger plan that the government in Riyadh will achieve by donating stadiums.” he added.
Saudi Arabia’s decision to host the tournament has outraged human rights officials, who point to the country’s brutal treatment of the LGBTQ+ community and immigrants
It is recalled that Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Bin Salman last July, with the Greek Prime Minister speaking of an opportunity for the two countries to strengthen bilateral strategic relations and sign important agreements affirm .
For his part, the Saudi leader highlighted the historic opportunity that the two countries will have to sign important agreements, particularly in the field of energy and communications.
Deputy Sports Minister Lefteris Avgenakis responded to the Politico article with a post on Twitter, saying: “Politico’s article on Saudi Arabia’s “buyout” of Greece for the 2030 World Cup is riddled with inaccuracies. There are contacts between the two countries and Egypt, but they are still in the early stages of exploring candidacy options.”
