Can Saudi Arabia’s 2034 Fifa World Cup survive the Middle East’s escalating wars?

Escalating conflicts threaten to leave billions in Gulf sports infrastructure stranded, casting doubt on the region’s mega-event strategy

When 60,000 football fans gathered in Jeddah for the Arabian Gulf Cup on Tuesday, they inadvertently highlighted the vulnerability of major sports events hosted by Gulf monarchies to the wars raging across the region.

The previous day, Saudi Arabia resumed strikes on Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi rebels after a four-year ceasefire collapsed. That truce had originally followed a Houthi attack on an oil facility near Jeddah’s Formula One track during a practice session.

While the two-week football tournament went ahead as planned, lingering risks were highlighted on Wednesday when a Houthi air strike on Riyadh’s international airport killed three people, including a Saudia Airlines captain.

Analysts say the threats from the Houthis and Iranian air strikes against Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman – do not bode well for the region’s ambitious sporting calendar.