Egypt has requested the right to host some group stage matches during the 2034 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Saudi Arabia, the Egyptian Football Association president Hany Abou Rida revealed on Wednesday.
“Saudi Arabia will stand up and organise a historic edition of the World Cup, and we wish our Saudi brothers every success,” said Abo Rida during the 14th CAF Extraordinary General Assembly in Cairo.
“But at the same time, we hope that [FIFA president] Mr. [Gianni] Infantino will grant us, as Africans and Egyptians, the honour of hosting and organising one of the World Cup groups in 2034.”
The 2034 World Cup will mark 100 years since Egypt took part in the Mundial, becoming the first African nation to achieve such feat following their appearance at the 1934 edition in Italy.
Saudi Arabia were awarded the hosting rights to the 2034 World Cup at the FIFA Congress on 11 December 2024, having gone unopposed.
The Middle Eastern nation will become just the third Arab country to host the World Cup, following Qatar in 2022 and Morocco, who will co-host alongside Portugal and Spain in 2030.
Egyptian officials had previously expressed their desire to host the World Cup in 2034 and also launched an unsuccessful bid to co-host the 2030 edition alongside Saudi Arabia and Greece.
