Saudi Arabia is planning to bid for the FIFA 2030 World Cup, in what would be its biggest ever sporting event on the global stage.
It is understood the Saudis will make a joint bid, with Egypt and Greece as co-hosts.
However, the Kingdom will be the lead partner and stage the majority of games, including the final knock out rounds.
Any bid in the region would be of at least $40 billion, and Saudi Arabia would contribute towards infrastructure costs in Egypt and Greece.
Given the climate, if successful the tournament would again be staged during the winter months, similar to the Qatar World Cup which starts in November this year.
“This is absolutely massive and actually, given the way FIFA chooses host nations with all the federations voting, has a great chance of succeeding,” says a source.
Currently a joint bid between Portugal and Spain is seen as the front runner, with England having pulled out.
“This has completely shaken things up. The Portugal and Spain bid looked a dead cert, and that’s even why England pulled out. But a lot of African and Asian federations would probably vote for this especially as Egypt is involved,” says a source.
The bid is likely to be strongly opposed by European nations who would again face huge disruption to their domestic leagues, as it would likely be held in November and December.