FIFA officially announced that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup, making it the second Middle Eastern nation to do so, following Qatar’s staging of the tournament in 2022.
This decision was made during the FIFA Extraordinary Congress meeting held on Wednesday, where Morocco, Spain, and Portugal were also confirmed as co-hosts of the 2030 World Cup, with celebration matches taking place in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay.
The 2034 edition will feature the first-ever 48-team tournament in a single host country, with matches planned across 15 stadiums in five cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar, Abha, and Neom.
King Salman Stadium in Riyadh, expected to have a capacity of 92,000, is likely to host both the opening and final matches once completed.
The Saudi bid received widespread acclaim from over 200 FIFA member federations during the virtual meeting hosted by FIFA President Gianni Infantino in Zurich.
The decision to award the tournament to Saudi Arabia came after the bid was unopposed, leading to criticism from fan groups who claim FIFA manipulated the voting process.
Traditionally, the 211 member nations choose a host through a single vote, but this time they voted simultaneously for both the 2030 and 2034 tournaments.
While Spain, Portugal, and Morocco were selected as joint hosts for 2030, with games also being held in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, concerns have been raised about the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.
Human rights groups have warned of abuses, including the treatment of migrant workers, freedom of speech, and the rights of minority groups.
Michael Page, deputy director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), highlighted the “unimaginable human cost” of hosting such a significant event.
HRW’s report, “Die First, and I’ll Pay You Later,” argues that Saudi Arabia is using the World Cup to improve its tarnished human rights reputation, particularly at the expense of migrant workers who will likely face harsh conditions as they help build the infrastructure for the tournament. Despite recent reforms, the organization claims that employers still wield significant control over workers.
As part of their ambitious plans, Saudi rulers have promised a futuristic cliff-top venue, part of the £1 trillion NEOM mega city project, which will rise 350 meters above the ground.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

In 2034, Saudi Arabia will host the World Cup with 48 teams playing in 5 cities. The decision was made by FIFA during a meeting. The tournament will be held in 15 stadiums, with the final likely in Riyadh. Some people are concerned about Saudi Arabia's human rights record, especially the treatment of workers. Human Rights Watch has warned about abuses. Saudi Arabia aims to improve its image through the World Cup, but critics are worried about the cost to workers. Despite this, the country plans to build a futuristic venue for the tournament as part of a larger project.

Saudi Arabia To Host First 48-Team World Cup In 2034

French midfielder, N’Golo Kante has left Chelsea to join Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad after seven years at Stamford Bridge where  he won numerous trophies, including the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup He was also part of the French team that won the World Cup in 2018.
Chelsea’s co-sporting directors praised Kante’s impact and influence on the club. Kante’s ball-winning ability was crucial to Chelsea’s unexpected league crown in the 2016/17 season, which earned him multiple Player of the Year awards. In a statement seen by Pindula News, the club said:
<blockquote>
Chelsea today says goodbye to club legend N’Golo Kante, with the midfielder to join Saudi Professional League side Al-Ittihad at the expiration of his contract.
The 32-year-old played a decisive role throughout his seven seasons at Stamford Bridge and lifted the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup.
The World Cup was also claimed with France in 2018, but as Kante’s medal collection swelled, he remained understated, humble, and immensely popular with team-mates, coaches and supporters alike. 
N’Golo Kante lauded by his Chelsea team-mates after winning the Premier League title at West Bromwich Albion in 2017 
Co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: ‘N’Golo’s impact and influence during his time at Chelsea cannot be overstated. His tireless performances in midfield contributed to several trophy wins and has guaranteed him a place in the club’s history. We wish him well as he embarks on the next chapter in his career.’
Kante arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2016 having played a key role in Leicester City winning the Premier League title. He instantly settled into the Chelsea midfield and his ball-winning ability was fundamental to Antonio Conte’s team securing an unexpected league crown.
Such was the France international’s influence across the 2016/17 campaign, he was named PFA Player of the Year, the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year and the Premier League Player of the Season.
At the end of the following campaign – which ended with an FA Cup final triumph over Manchester United at Wembley – Kante was named Chelsea Player of the Year by supporters.
Kante’s game evolved during his time at Stamford Bridge and he played in a more advanced midfield role en route to Chelsea winning the 2019 Europa League. The Frenchman, despite nursing an injury, starred in the final in Baku as Arsenal were beaten.
An injury-impacted 2019/20 was overcome the following season, which ended with Chelsea being crowned as European champions for the second time. Kante was extraordinary in the knockout stages, winning player-of-the-match awards in ties against Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and after Manchester City were beaten in the final.
</blockquote>
N’Golo Kante is the latest high-profile footballer to move to Saudi Arabia, following Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. Ruben Neves of Wolves is also expected to join the Saudi Pro League with Al Hilal.
<h3><a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h3>

N’Golo Kante Leaves Chelsea To Join Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad

Former Zimbabwe international football player, <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Knowledge_Musona/">Knowledge Musona</a>, has signed for newly-promoted Saudi Arabian club, Al Riyadh FC, after leaving fellow Saudi Pro League side, Al Tai. Musona will become a free agent on July 1st when his Al Tai contract expires.
Al Riyadh FC finished fourth in the First Division to earn promotion to the Saudi Pro League for the upcoming season. Musona’s experience and talent are expected to be important for the team’s top-flight status.
He is known for his skills as a dead ball specialist and assist master. In the previous season, the 32-year-old scored eight goals and provided nine assists in 29 games for Al Tai.
The Saudi Pro League is attracting some of the world’s leading players, with impressive investment from the Saudi Arabian government. The league is expected to become a new Eldorado of world football with Cristiano Ronaldo’s spectacular signing by Al Nasr after the World Cup in Qatar, Karim Benzema’s joined Al Ittihad while other star players have joined the trek to the oil rich nation.
Musona will be eager to continue his good form in the upcoming season. Knowledge Musona, known as “The Smiling Assassin,” <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/2022/05/19/knowledge-musona-retires-from-international-football/">retired from international football</a> in May 2022 to focus on his club career. 
<h3><a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h3>

Zimbabwe's Knowledge Musona Leaves Al Tai For Al Riyadh FC

Acting President <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Constantino_Chiwenga">Constantino Chiwenga</a> has said iron and lithium will be pivotal for Zimbabwe’s economic growth just as oil is to Saudi Arabia.
Chiwenga who doubles as the Minister of Health and Child Care made the remarks while addressing a Family of God (FOG) 2022/23 national thanksgiving and dedication prayer in Bulawayo on Thursday, NewsDay reported. He is cited as saying: 
<blockquote>
Fear not for the Lord Almighty is with you. Zimbabwe will not die or collapse. Those who want this God-given country to fold will be punished threefold. Yes, it has been painful to our people, but that’s the price we have to pay.
And so, we shall build our nation with the resources which we were given by the Almighty God.  We are faced by unjust and illegal sanctions. We have embarked in the work of re-engaging with hostile regimes, which have imposed illegal sanctions which are meant to cripple us. As we work hard on the frontier of engagement and re-engagement, we can say we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, with our sister African nations assisting us. Iron and lithium will be pivotal in the growth and development of the country. Just as oil is to Saudi Arabia, so is lithium to Zimbabwe. So, we will not die.
</blockquote>
His remarks come as the <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/zimbabwe-bans-export-of-raw-lithium/">government banned exports of raw lithium</a> last week in an effort to value-add Zimbabwe’s minerals and support local production and employment creation.
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The ban was effected through Statutory Instrument (SI) 213 of 2022 titled Base Mineral Export Control (Unbeneficiated Lithium Bearing Ores) Order, 2022.
Lithium is becoming increasingly important as the world shifts towards clean energy systems.
Zimbabwe has abundant deposits of lithium and, with rising global demand and firmer prices, it has become an attractive destination for investment in this resource. 
In June this year, the minister of Mines and Mining Development, <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Winston_Chitando">Winston Chitando</a> said Zimbabwe is on course to achieve the US$12 billion mining industry target by 2023.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s 2022 surplus from oil sales came to 102 billion riyals (US$27 billion), according to the kingdom’s finance ministry’s preliminary estimates.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

"Just As Oil Is To Saudi Arabia, So Is Lithium And Iron To Zimbabwe" - Chiwenga

Warriors midfielder Ovidy Karuru says people should not underestimate Saudi Arabia’s second-tier league.
Karuru (33), who recently spent six months playing for Al-Shoalah, <a href="https://www.snl24.com/kickoff/sanews/premiership/kaizer-chiefs/ex-chiefs-midfielder-on-why-the-league-where-pitso-is-coaching-must-be-respected-20221129">told KickOff</a> that the Saudi second-tier division pays good money. He said:
<blockquote>
Some teams in that league (Saudi Arabia second tier league) pay players winning bonuses of up to US$4 000 towards the end of the season which you get after the game in cash.
After we won our last game and survived, we were given winning bonuses of 25 000 Saudi Riyal (approx. R113 000).
The plus about staying in the Middle East is that the lifestyle doesn’t demand so much.
R200 worth of fuel is a lot and you don’t have to be dressed up because nobody cares about that as they were their long Arabic garment.
I had three tops and three bottoms in six months there because I was always at home alone.
It is extremely hot during the day, so you don’t go anywhere, they don’t speak English, there are no pubs, and the women don’t even look at you so all your money stays in your pocket unlike in South Africa where you spend easily as there are always temptations.
</blockquote>
Karuru is currently a free agent after his short-term contract with Al-Shoalah expired.

Karuru Speaks On Footballers' Earnings In Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia on Saturday executed 81 people convicted of crimes ranging from killings to belonging to militant groups, the largest known mass execution carried out in the kingdom in its modern history.
The number of executed surpassed even the toll of a January 1980 mass execution for the 63 militants convicted of seizing the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979, the worst-ever militant attack to target the kingdom and Islam’s holiest site.
It wasn’t clear why the kingdom choose Saturday for the executions.
The number of death penalty cases being carried out in Saudi Arabia had dropped during the coronavirus pandemic, though the kingdom continued to behead convicts under King Salman and his assertive son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency announced Saturday’s executions, saying they included those “convicted of various crimes, including the murdering of innocent men, women and children.”
The kingdom also said some of those executed were members of al-Qaida, the Islamic State group and also backers of Yemen’s Houthi rebels. 
A Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Iran-backed Houthis since 2015 in neighbouring Yemen in an effort to restore the internationally recognized government to power.
Those executed included 73 Saudis, seven Yemenis and one Syrian. The report did not say where the executions took place.
The Saudi Press Agency said:
<blockquote>
The kingdom will continue to take a strict and unwavering stance against terrorism and extremist ideologies that threaten the stability of the entire world.
</blockquote>
The report did not say how the prisoners were executed, though death-row inmates typically are beheaded in Saudi Arabia.
An announcement by Saudi state television described those executed as having “followed the footsteps of Satan” in carrying out their crimes.
The executions drew immediate international criticism.
Ali Adubusi, the director of the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights, alleged that some of those executed had been tortured and faced trials “carried out in secret.”
The kingdom’s last mass execution came in January 2016, when the kingdom executed 47 people, including a prominent opposition Shiite cleric who had rallied demonstrations in the kingdom.
In 2019, the kingdom beheaded 37 Saudi citizens, most of them minority Shiites, in a mass execution across the country for alleged terrorism-related crimes. It also publicly nailed the severed body and head of a convicted extremist to a pole as a warning to others. Such crucifixions after execution, while rare, do occur in the kingdom.
More: <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/saudi-arabia-executed-81-convicts-single-day-83406005?cid=social_twitter_abcn">ABC News</a>

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