Saudi Arabia is in discussions about competing in next year’s men’s Gold Cup in the United States and Canada.
Although the line-up will not be finalised until March, Saudi Arabia appears increasingly likely to be one of the 16 teams taking part in the tournament organised by CONCACAF, the governing body for football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, according to multiple people familiar with the proposal who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Saudi’s involvement would follow on from a year of significant investment into CONCACAF.
In August, CONCACAF signed a multi-year deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). CONCACAF’s president, Victor Montagliani, said in a statement at the time that it was a “strategic partnership which will support the confederation in developing all levels of football across our region”.
This sponsorship followed Aramco — one of the world’s largest oil companies which is majority-owned by the Saudi government — becoming the confederation’s “official energy partner” for all CONCACAF teams and competitions.
CONCACAF declined to comment when approached. The Saudi Arabain Football Federation did not respond.
The 2025 Gold Cup begins on June 14 and the final is on July 6 at NRG Stadium in Houston. Thirteen of the venues are in the U.S., with BC Place in Vancouver the sole Canadian venue.
Most of the Gold Cup stadiums are located on the west coast, while the FIFA Club World Cup, which is taking place from June 15 to July 13, will host the majority of its matches on the east coast.
The U.S. and Canada have already qualified as hosts, and Mexico are assured of a place as the holders of the competition. Haiti, El Salvador, Curacao, Panama and the Dominican Republic have also qualified.
It is not the first time CONCACAF has extended a Gold Cup invitation to another national team outside of its confederation.
Qatar, also from the Asian Football Confederation, competed in the 2021 and 2023 editions of the men’s Gold Cup. Brazil, the five-time World Cup winners, took part in the 1996, 1998 and 2003 Gold Cups. South Korea (2000, 2002) and South Africa (2005) have also featured in CONCACAF’s biennial competition.
Qatar were defeated 4-0 by Panama in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Gold Cup (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
The discussions to include Saudi Arabia in next year’s Gold Cup come ahead of the country’s confirmation next week as the hosts of the men’s FIFA World Cup in 2034, for which they were the only bidders.
Even though a vote of member nations at the FIFA Congress — which is being held virtually on December 11 — still needs to take place, the choice will made by “acclamation”.
On November 29, FIFA, football’s world governing body, released its evaluation report of the Saudi 2034 bid.
The report, declared the risk assessment for human rights to be “medium” and awarded Saudi Arabia a higher score for bidding requirements than the Canadian, American and Mexican joint bid for the 2026 edition.
Five days before the evaluation report was released, two United States senators encouraged FIFA president Gianni Infantino not to pick Saudi Arabia.
Democrats Dick Durbin (Illinois) and Ron Wyden (Oregon) penned the joint letter, which was reported by the Associated Press, noting that approving the Saudi bid “endangers workers, athletes, tourists, and members of the press”, as well as it running “counter to FIFA’s own human rights policies”.
Gold Cup venues in full
- Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
- AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
- BC Place, Vancouver, Canada
- CITYPARK, St. Louis, Missouri
- Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California
- Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California
- NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
- PayPal Park, San Jose, California
- Q2 Stadium, Austin, Texas
- Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, Texas
- Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, California
- SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
- State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
(Top photo: Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
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