Saudi Arabia’s growing influence and massive spending in global sports have been detailed in research ahead of the kingdom being confirmed by FIFA next week as the 2034 World Cup host.

The 2034 World Cup, which is set to be held in Saudi Arabia, is in talks to move its traditional summer date to January as the country wishes to avoid a clash with the Ramadan period

FIFA World Cup bid evaluation report has, remarkably, awarded Saudi Arabia’s bid for the 2034 World Cup the joint highest bidding score ever. Human rights groups, however, have slammed FIFA for “whitewashing” the country’s human rights record and called out glossing over environmental concerns.