Saudi Arabia's grand plans for the 2034 World Cup have been thrown into disarray amid reports that officials are having a complete rethink about a number of the proposed stadiums.
As part of their bid for the tournament, which they ultimately won without any competition, the nation committed to building 11 new stadiums and renovating a further four over the next nine years in time for the tournament.
However, the latest reports from the world of football suggest that costs are far greater than the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) initially thought.
Stadium designs to be revised
According to a report in The Guardian, the PIF have asked the architectural firms working on the new stadiums to resubmit new designs amid the rising costs.
Although certain costs are unavoidable, the designs for some of the new stadiums are considered too grand by the PIF, and a rethink is required.
There is even reportedly a possibility that the country won't use 15 stadiums for the tournament after all, prompting speculation that building 11 new stadiums in four host cities is no longer a feasible or cost-effective task.
At present, construction has only started on three of these stadiums, and although there is still plenty of time between now and the start of the 2034 World Cup, Saudi Arabia isn't a country used to building elite football stadiums, never mind 11 at one time.
Saudi Arabia's ambition for the 2034 FIFA World Cup is off the charts. The country has unveiled 15 stadiums that will host matches: 11 will be new builds, two existing stadiums will be temporarily expanded, and a further two existing venues will be renovated 👉… pic.twitter.com/18IdMkfT98
— The B1M (@TheB1M) December 17, 2025
Health and safety concerns could also be a factor
There are also concerns around the health and safety of construction workers in Saudi Arabia. FIFA faced huge criticism for the number of deaths in Qatar when they were getting ready for the World Cup back in 2022.
Like Saudi Arabia, the infrastructure to host such an event wasn't in place in Qatar when they were awarded the hosting rights, and ultimately, more than 6,000 migrant workers unnecessarily died while building the new stadiums there.
Earlier this year, a leading Human Rights group warned FIFA:
“The 2034 Saudi World Cup will be the largest and most expensive ever, but it could also have the highest cost in human lives, as millions of migrant workers build infrastructure, including 11 new stadiums, a rail and transit network, and 185,000 hotel rooms.”
FGG says: No lessons learned
The cost of the Qatar World Cup was well into the billions financially and thousands in terms of human life. Awarding Saudi Arabia the 2034 event when they are equally as unprepared goes to show that nobody at FIFA is prepared to learn from the mistakes from the past.