- Stadiums of the 2034 World Cup in Riyadh
The 2034 World Cup, to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2034, will be held in 15 stadiums (one more than required by FIFA), spread across five venues, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced on Wednesday, December 11 are: Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar, Abha and Neomwith Riyadh being the most populous with 15 million people and Neom being the modern city on the west coast.
The World Cup stadiums are all less than two hours' flight from each other: 8 in the capital Riyadh, 4 in Jeddah, 1 in Neom, 1 in Al Khobar and 1 in Abha. In this article we will focus on the stadiums in the capital and their importance for the tournament.
The first and most important thing is this King Salman International Stadium in Riyadh. With a capacity of 92,760 spectators, the opening game and final will take place here. There will be more than 100 square meters of video scoreboards in the stadium.
It will be located in the heart of King Abdulaziz Park. The stadium will be a pioneer in sustainability with its green roofs that blend seamlessly into the surrounding area. The stadium is the only one of the 15 stadiums that has the minimum number of 80,000 seats required by FIFA to host the final.
Once completed, capacity will be increased to 70,200, exceeding the minimum number of 60,000 seats required for the semi-finals. In addition, the athletics track will be removed and special service facilities will be modernized.
The King Saud University Stadium Games up to the round of 16 will be played. The venue currently hosts Al-Nassr's home games and will be used during AFC 2027.
A renovation will then begin in 2029 to temporarily increase capacity and improve the services offered. The total capacity is 46,319, exceeding the minimum number of 40,000 seats required to host round of 16 matches.