Two weeks ago, late on a Friday evening, FIFA released its evaluations for both the 2030 and 2034 World Cup bids. It awarded Saudi Arabia ’s bid a score of 4.2 (out of five) — the highest in the organisation’s history, citing “a unique, innovative and ambitious vision for the ‘next century’ of FIFA World Cups”.

The Saudi bid was the only candidate and was acclaimed by the applause of more than 200 FIFA member federations.