When FIFA handed Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup, the vibe was clear: go big, go futuristic, go unforgettable. And honestly, as a football nut, I get the excitement new stadiums can shape the whole identity of a tournament.
But here’s the first big twist: the stadium plan is already being slowed down by delays and cost-cutting.
The headline problem: the designs are “too expensive”
Inside the construction world, multiple architecture firms working on Saudi’s World Cup stadiums have reportedly been told to go back to the drawing board and resubmit cheaper plans.
Some contractors were even expecting to start builds next year and now they’re hearing timelines are slipping.
That’s not just a tiny hiccup. Stadiums aren’t like shopping malls where you can “figure it out later.”
A World Cup venue needs years of planning, transport links, safety systems, test events, pitch standards, broadcast setups the whole machine.
Could the venue list shrink?
Saudi’s bid talked about 15 stadiums. But the industry chatter is that number could drop.
And here’s the context every fan should clock:
- Qatar 2022 used 8 stadiums (compact tournament, tight travel).
- 2026 (48 teams) will use 16 venues across the USA, Mexico, and Canada basically a football continent-hopping tour.
So if Saudi trims venues, it’s not impossible. But it changes the tournament feel: fewer cities means less nationwide spread, fewer “new football memories” in different regions, and more pressure on each stadium to deliver iconic moments.
The mega-project factor: Neom and “The Line”
Saudi’s plan isn’t just Riyadh and Jeddah it’s also tied to headline-grabbing projects like Neom, including a stadium concept linked to The Line (that ultra-ambitious future city idea).
The problem with building a stadium inside a city that itself is still being built? One delay feeds another. Football schedules don’t wait for sci-fi timelines.
Follow the money: PIF tightening the belt
The key player here is PIF (Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund), which funds a huge chunk of the country’s mega-projects under Vision 2030.
Reports say PIF is pushing to reduce costs and has planned major spending cuts, with lower oil-related income pressures in the background. And when the same wallet is backing stadiums, tourism projects, entertainment cities, and massive developments, something somewhere will get “value engineered.”
That’s the polite industry phrase. In football terms: the flashy signing is suddenly getting asked to take a pay cut.
Why this matters for fans
World Cups aren’t just stadiums. They’re atmosphere machines.
The best tournaments have venues with personality places where you remember the noise, the shadows on the pitch at kick-off, the camera angles, the walk to the ground, the tension when a country’s hopes sit on one set-piece.
If cost-cutting turns bold stadium ideas into safer, standard builds, the tournament risks losing some magic. And that would be ironic, because football is entering an era where the money keeps exploding the whole economy of the World Cup is getting richer, even as fans feel squeezed (you can see that tension in how the World Cup’s getting richer… so why are fans paying more? And with FIFA also boosting incentives like the bigger prize money plans around 2026.
The bottom line
Saudi Arabia still has time 2034 is nine years away but the first signs are clear: the dream is being negotiated down to a budget.
As a fan, I’m not rooting for delays. I want the football to win. But I also know this sport: the moment money gets nervous, plans get rewritten. And right now, Saudi 2034’s stadium story is already entering its first real match ambition vs reality.
