Jeddah to host 2023 FIFA showcase matchups

Article posted by Coliseum, July 4^th, 2023

Image: King Abdullah Sport City Stadium, saudipics, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) and FIFA have confirmed that all matches during the FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023™ will take place in the City of Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).

‘FIFA’ stated that the decision was made following a FIFA delegation visit to Jeddah to assess ongoing preparations for the tournament, which takes place from 12-22 December 2023. It will be the first time the FIFA Club World Cup™ is held in Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)-based the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) is the football governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956, its responsibilities include administration of club competitions and national teams. The founder of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation is Prince Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud.

Zürich (Switzerland)-based The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the international governing body of association football, beach soccer and futsal. It was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The FIFA Club World Cup™ is an international men’s association football competition organized by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport’s global governing body. The competition was first contested in 2000 as the FIFA Club World Championship.

The 2023 FIFA Club World Cup™ will be the 20^th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup™, a FIFA-organized international club football tournament between the winners of the six continental confederations, as well as the host nation’s league champions. The tournament will be played in Saudi Arabia from December 12th-22nd, 2023. It will be the last seven-team Club World Cup before the tournament is expanded to 32 teams in 2025.

Enthused Yasser Al Misehal, President of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, “We are delighted that Jeddah, with its state-of-the-art facilities and reputation for hosting major international sports events, has been selected as the Host City for the FIFA Club World Cup™. Sport is a key driver of Saudi Arabia’s ongoing transformation under Vision 2030, which has established the Kingdom as one of the fastest growing and most exciting countries in world sport. We believe hosting international events like the FIFA Club World Cup™ provides an opportunity to grow the game further and inspire new and existing fans, while showcasing to the world Saudi’s hospitable culture and huge passion for football. Working closely with FIFA, we are ready to deliver an exceptional tournament and an unforgettable experience for the players and fans.”

‘FIFA’ further stated that the FIFA delegation visit included detailed inspections of key infrastructure including the 62,345-capacity King Abdullah Sport City Stadium and the 27,000-capacity Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, as well as the proposed training and accommodation facilities.

The SAFF’s commitment to growing the game at every level in Saudi across men and women’s football has been highlighted by its recent achievements including qualifying for six FIFA World Cup™ tournaments, winning the U-23 AFC Asian Cup (men), successfully establishing a women’s national team that is now FIFA-ranked, and launching a U-17 women’s national team.

At the grassroots level, the SAFF has opened 28 regional training centers to nurture young Saudi talent and increased registered coaches from 750 in 2018 to more than 5,500 today, of which 1,000 are women. Rapid progress has seen the number of male registered players rise by 58 percent since 2021, while the number of registered female players has increased by 86 percent in the same period.

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