Al Hilal’s Brazilian superstar Neymar says Saudi Arabia may witness the best World Cup in history, if the Kingdom becomes the host of the Fifa World Cup in 2034.
After a private visit to the exhibition of the Saudi Arabia Fifa World Cup 2034 bid, Brazil’s all time leading goal scorer cozied up to the city of Riyadh and voiced his confidence in the bid.
Neymar Jr, who has spent the past year in Al Qunfudhah and seen the intense passion and talent the country possesses along with the intent of bringing the World Cup back in 2034 said, “I think it is the best project I have ever seen in my life, and it makes me very happy to be in this position where I can help in any way. It’s amazing. It’s great. They have covered every angle, not just the players but the spectators too.”
The tour which was attended by Hammad Albalawi, who is the head of the Saudi Arabia Fifa World Cup 2034 bid unit, allowed the soccer star to travel into the future and see the different cities offered in the bid Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar, Abha and NEOM through video interactive displays.
Images of the twelve stunning stadiums that have been selected Saudi Arabia to host the World Cup in ten years time were made possible by tangible scale models.
With the possibility of bringing the first ever hosted World Cup singlehandedly by a single nation with a total of 48 teams, the Saudi Arabia bid claims to be convenient to reach, people only taking an eight hour plane ride as 60% of the population of the world lives within that distance, and quite convenient as the internal flight duration between various host cities are about two hours cost time. Speaking about players and fans that are at the focus of the Saudi Arabia bid plan, Neymar Jr has said:
“Everything is connected to football and the players – no long distances or time wasted which mean that one can move from the match to the hotel and back with ease thus, recovering properly and quicker,” he said.
Neymar has seen first hand the consolidation and the spreading of the game in Saudi Arabia as the nation is steadily becoming one of the most, if not the most, sought after growth narratives in the football world.
But for the 32 year old Brazilian, what does it all is the friendliness of the people which is what he believes the world should adopt.
“Let me say that I was to some extent shocked by Saudi Arabia, with all of it, yes. The reason being, from afar light years, we have a unique view of what the nation is actually about. The moment people reach here, they have a different and a very good point of view, which I too had. It is astonishing,” the ex-striker at Barcelona said.
“Thus it is crucial that people from all places all over the world learn more about the Saudi culture, ” World class football player Neymar Jr. said. I can say that I’m very happy as it is today. My family is also very happy. Here is the point — I have been living here for more than one year by now and I am already settled,” added Neymar Jr.
Given that he has hardly featured for Saudi Pro League Champions Al Hilal because of a terrible injury, the Brazil international forward and world cup champion has played and scored for Brazil at different World Cups but was so impressed with the love shown him by local fans while recovering from his injury. Which he attributes to the vibrant population of the country that is youthful in nature, with 63% of the Saudi populace aged 30 years or below.
“It creates an incredible buzz because these are all young people who are practically the same age as me and have been close to following my career for most of the time. Such warmth, as I experience now on their part. I can give you an idea what warmth I feel, in fact I feel very grateful not only to them but also to my family,” added Neymar Jr.
In the future, Neymar Jr. would like to have a greater impact in the country where football means a lot and as well as help develop future fabrics in Saudi and outside.
“Once you start, once you are someone prominent in the football world, I think it makes your influence sky rocket. I know I am someone of high power today. I understand my position. If Cristiano Ronaldo is a great icon, one of the great names in football history, then so does (Karim) Benzema. So we are aware of our strength, we are aware of our influence, and what we are asking for is to help. We want to reach all the children and the youth to do the right things with our football and spread joy over the world,” said Neymar Jr.