What will a Saudi World Cup look like?

The men's football World Cup will take place in Saudi Arabia in 2034 with the promise of "one of a kind" stadiums and organisers insisting everyone is welcome.

However, the decision to award the tournament to the kingdom which will feature 11 stadiums that have not been built yet - one in a new city that hasn't been built - is a controversial one.

Saudi's bid was unopposed and the Football Association backed the 2034 hosts in Wednesday's Fifa meeting.

It is the second time the competition will be held in the Middle East following the Qatar World Cup in 2022.

Saudi Arabia has invested around £5bn in sports since 2021, when the country's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman made it a key part of his strategy to diversify the economy, with a host of major sporting events brought to the kingdom, including high-profile boxing and Formula 1.

The country's domestic football league now includes world stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar Jr, and the country's Public Investment Fund owns Newcastle United and launched the breakaway LIV golf series.

However, the country has been accused of 'sportswashing' - using its unprecedented spending on sport to improve the oil-producing kingdom's reputation over its human rights record and environmental impact.

So what will a World Cup in Saudi Arabia look like?

Fifa's report into the Saudi World Cup bid praises the "one-of-a-kind" stadium projects that have been proposed.

"They have tremendous potential and will undoubtedly change the way future stadium designs and structures are approached," the report states.

In total, organisers say the Saudi World Cup will be played in 15 stadiums across five cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Abha, Al-Khobar and Neom, an as yet unbuilt city in the north-west of the country.

The plans for the Neom stadium show it will be set 350 metres above ground level and will only be accessible via high-speed lifts and driverless vehicles.

It is part of the country's 'The Line' project and has been pitched as a car-free city, just 200m (656ft) wide and 170km (106 miles) long. The Line will be taller than the Empire State Building in New York and about as long as the distance between Bristol and London.

The Qiddiya Coast Stadium will feature a ripple design to evoke the look of a Mexican wave, while the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium in Riyadh will be located on a clifftop.

Eight of the tournament's stadiums will be in the capital Riyadh - including the planned 92,760 King Salman International Stadium, which will host the opening game and the final.

Of the 15 stadiums, four are already built, eight are planned and three are under construction and will host the AFC Asian Cup in 2027.

Saudi Arabia has been criticised for its human rights violations, women's rights abuses, the criminalisation of homosexuality, the restriction of free speech and the war in Yemen.

Non-governmental organisations recently claimed the authorities executed at least 200 individuals in the first nine months of 2024, the highest for three decades.

The kingdom's international standing was severely damaged by the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a US-based Saudi journalist who was a prominent critic of the government.

Human rights campaigners say sport is being used by the Saudi government to detract from long-standing reputation issues.

The Saudi government says the investment in sport is boosting the economy, opening it up to tourism and inspiring people to be more active.

According to Fifa guidelines, countries bidding to host the event must commit to respect for human rights.

In November, Fifa released its evaluation report for the Saudi bid, awarding it "an average score of 4.2 out of 5" - the highest ever.

Fifa claimed "there is a good potential that the tournament could serve as a catalyst for some of the ongoing and future reforms, and contribute to positive human rights outcomes for people in Saudi Arabia and the region that go beyond the scope of the tournament itself".

Last month, however, campaign group Amnesty International said the process to select Saudi Arabia as the 2034 host must be halted unless major human rights reforms were announced. It claimed that hosting the tournament there would likely lead to severe and widespread rights violations.

The bid promises plans to expand airports, introduce high-speed rail links and enhance public transport.

However, the vast distances between stadiums means fans who want to move between host cities are likely to have to rely on air travel.

Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Middle East and around nine times the size of the UK.

The World Cup is being expanded and will feature 48 teams from 2026 onwards. That is an increase from the 32 that competed in Qatar.

Fifa said "extensive enhancements to public transport infrastructure are foreseen" within cities, including the launch of the new metro system in Riyadh.

Ten fan parks, two per city, are planned. As for accommodation for teams, officials, media and fans, the Fifa bid report suggests there is a "wide variety of good options to cater for all types of tournament stakeholders".