However, with Gulf states, this decade dominating the hosting of top competitions and Saudi Arabia seeking to squeeze out Qatar and the UAE as regional sports hubs, the thought of an Arab football federation that secedes from the AFC and CAF is not far-fetched.
Next month, Morocco will host the FIFA Club World Cup. Qatar will host the Asian Cup a bit later in 2023. Saudi Arabia is certain to host the 2027 Cup.
Doha is back in the picture as home to the 2030 Asian Games; in 2034, it’s Riyadh’s turn.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt are considered FIFA favourites for the 2030 World Cup, and a Moroccan pitch is possible. Moreover, Saudi Arabia is bidding for the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup.
On the scale of the World Cup, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are separately considering bids for the 2036 Olympics but could join forces. Likewise, Egypt and Turkey are mulling their separate candidacies.
Add to that Manchester United’s talks with Saudi and Qatari investors in a city whose other major club, Manchester City, is owned by the UAE.
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Saudi sports minister Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said he would support a Saudi private-sector acquisition of Manchester United. The Saudi state is precluded from buying a second Premier League club after its sovereign wealth fund purchased Newcastle United.
In an interview with BBC sports, Mr. Al Faisal argued that his country’s sports strategy was producing results.
Mr. Ronaldo “would benefit the league, the sports eco-system in Saudi and will inspire the youth for the future. The numbers don’t lie – when you look at participation in boxing, from six gyms in 2018 to 57 gyms today. A 300% participation increase, 60% are women, which was a shock for us. When you see appetite from the youth, men, and women, they learned from it,” Mr. Al Faisal said.
Dr. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, co-director of the University of Würzburg’s Institute for Fan Culture.