The World Cup will return to the Middle East after Fifa officially confirmed on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup, while Morocco, Spain and Portugal were awarded joint hosting rights for the 2030 tournament.
The decision was announced after a vote during an extraordinary Fifa Congress which was held virtually, but it was a mere formality as neither bids had any rivals.
For the 2034 finals, Fifa had declared its intention to rotate the showpiece event between continents, which meant it welcomed bids only from Asia or Oceania as the expanded 2026 World Cup is scheduled to place across North America.
Once other contenders like Australia and Indonesia withdrew their interest, Saudi Arabia emerged as the lone candidate and winners of the bid by default.
Thus, the Fifa World Cup will return to the Gulf region after Qatar successfully hosted the 2022 edition.
Meanwhile, Morocco - which has tried and failed on five previous occasions to be awarded the staging of the tournament - became the second African nation to host the competition after South Africa in 2010.
The 2030 tournament will mark a century since the first World Cup was held in Uruguay, and as a result the joint bid by Morocco, Spain and Portugal will also see the South American nation handed one game along with Argentina and Paraguay.
The decision was announced by Fifa president Gianni Infantino following the Congress that was held virtually.
"We are bringing football to more countries and the number of teams has not diluted the quality. It actually enhanced the opportunity," Infantino said about the 2030 World Cup.
"What better way to celebrate the 100th anniversary in 2030 than to have the World Cup in six countries, in three continents, with 48 teams and 104 epic matches. The world will stand still and will celebrate the 100 years of the World Cup.
"Congratulations to all the bidders for putting up a great dossier, but I would like to put on record my big, big thank you to the six confederation presidents and to their teams."
“The vote of the congress is loud and clear,” Infantino added after the hosting rights were officially approved.
Uruguay held the first World Cup in 1930, while Argentina and Spain have also staged the tournament. Portugal, Paraguay and Morocco will all be first-time hosts, alongside Saudi Arabia.
Fifa had earlier announced the possibility of having the 2034 World Cup during the winter months owing to the extreme temperatures in the traditional summer months of finals.
In 2022, Qatar had hosted the first winter World Cup, which saw a break in the regular club season that allowed the finals to be played in November and December.
Following the winning bid, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman highlighted "the kingdom’s great determination to contribute effectively to developing the game of football around the world, and spreading messages of love, peace and tolerance, armed with its great capabilities and potential, in addition to the energies of the people of the kingdom and their high spirits to overcome difficulties, one of the fruits of which was winning the bid to host the 2034 World Cup officially".
Saudi sports minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal added: "FIFA Congress, allow me first of all to hand out my thanks to the trust that you have conveyed into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
"It is a day that we invited the entire world to Saudi Arabia. We intend to have an extraordinary version of the World Cup held in our kingdom."
Following the announcement, the Football Association explained its support for 2030 and 2034 bids.
"Both bids are technically strong and meet the FIFA criteria to host the men's World Cup," it stated.
"Our focus is on ensuring that all our fans can attend and enjoy tournaments. The FA board met the Saudi Arabian Football Federation last month to discuss their bid in more detail.
"They assured us that they are fully committed to providing a safe and welcome environment for all fans. Football is a global game and is for everyone. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion means being respectful of all, including all religions and cultures.
"We also believe that hosting World Cups can be a catalyst for positive change, which is best delivered by working collaboratively in partnership with host nations."
Last month, Saudi Arabia unveiled design plans for a grand 92,000-capacity King Salman Stadium in Riyadh, which will stage the opening match and the final of the 2034 tournament.
The Saudi sports ministry unveiled its designs with the stadium scheduled to be completed in 2029.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Family: mother, three sisters, three brothers and a two-year-old daughter
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Rating: 2.5/5
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Monday February 21: v Philippines
Tuesday February 22: semi-finals
Thursday February 24: final
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Day 1, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Sadeera Samarawickrama set pulses racing with his strokeplay on his introduction to Test cricket. It reached a feverish peak when he stepped down the wicket and launched Yasir Shah, who many regard as the world’s leading spinner, back over his head for six. No matter that he was out soon after: it felt as though the future had arrived.
Stat of the day - 5 The last time Sri Lanka played a Test in Dubai – they won here in 2013 – they had four players in their XI who were known as wicketkeepers. This time they have gone one better. Each of Dinesh Chandimal, Kaushal Silva, Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, and Niroshan Dickwella – the nominated gloveman here – can keep wicket.
The verdict Sri Lanka want to make history by becoming the first team to beat Pakistan in a full Test series in the UAE. They could not have made a better start, first by winning the toss, then by scoring freely on an easy-paced pitch. The fact Yasir Shah found some turn on Day 1, too, will have interested their own spin bowlers.
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Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)
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Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
