The FIFA U17 World Cup’s New Home: Qatar’s Ambitious Plan for the Next Five Tournament
The Middle East looks set to continue its dominance in hosting the biggest sporting events on the planet, as Qatar is bidding to host the next five editions of the U17 World Cup.
As part of the deal, FIFA also revealed that the women’s competition would also be staged overseas for the foreseeable future, with Morocco looking to set to win the rights for that event. FIFA has huge plans for both events over the coming years, which will hugely increase the football betting opportunities that come with wagering on the competitions.
But what could the competition mean for the Middle East and its future dreams of hosting the World Cup once again?
Qatar Set To Host U17 World Cup
The latest news coming out of FIFA have sparked excitement around the Middle East, as it has been revealed that Qatar will host the next five editions of the U17 World Cup. As part of the deal, the first tournament to be staged in the Middle East will come in 2025, with the final event as part of this current deal being contested in 2029.
These latest developments come following an update from FIFA that aim for the competition to reach bigger numbers of fans over the coming years, as the tournament will be expanded from 24 nations to 48 to make the growth of the men’s competition. FIFA has supported the plans for the same nation to host the tournament to ‘advance the existing footballing infrastructure in the interest of efficiencies’.
Building On Success Of 2022 World Cup
The decision to hand Qatar the hosting responsibilities has gone down extremely well with footballing fans in the Middle East, as it promises to build on the success that was achieved during the 2022 World Cup. The tournament that was staged at the end of the year was a massive success among fans and organizers, with the tournament eventually ending in a memorable win for Argentina following a pulsating final against France.
Building on that newfound popularity of the sport in the nation is the next big aim for the nation, and there have already been initial signs of promise after Qatar stepped in to host the Asian Cup earlier this year. After hosting both of the global events in the world of soccer, Qatar is now recognized as being one of the best host nations for major tournaments, and that bodes well for future plans when it comes to potentially hosting the World Cup for the second time. Also, such great football events raise the popularity of football betting among gambling fans in the Gulf States.
Middle East Stepping Up World Cup Bid
The exciting footballing events in the Middle East look set to continue over the coming years, as it has already been revealed that the World Cup will be heading back to the region in 2034, as Saudi Arabia was the only host that put forward a bid to host the event.
It will be another memorable edition of the competition, and it will be the 25th overall FIFA World Cup to be staged. Due to Hashim Ali, the Chief Sports Editor at Arabicbet.org, an Arabic sports betting, and online casino website, it comes at a successful time for betting fans in the region, as there is a growing number of footballing superstars moving to the Middle East to compete in the Saudi Pro League. That’s why this league is now among the most popular for online football betting. You can choose any bookmaker you prefer from the list on Arabicbet.
The popularity of the competition reached newfound heights following the 2022 World Cup, as it was revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo would be moving to Al Nassr. A number of global stars have followed in the footsteps of the former Real Madrid man since, with Karim Benzema, N’golo Kante, and Neymar among the players who are set to compete in the next season of the Saudi Pro League.
Conclusion
Qatar will already be putting plans in place ahead of the 2025 edition of the U17 World Cup. While it isn’t considered to be as prestigious as the men’s competition, it does offer locals the chance to see some of the brightest young stars from across the world.
Qatar could also be invited to take part in the competition, which would mean that the talent of the players that the nation is bringing through could grow since they would be playing at the very highest level of the U17 game against the best players.
The most recent U17 World Cup was a major success, with the competition taking place in Indonesia at the end of 2023. A total of 24 nations from six confederations competed in the competition, with Germany coming out on top against France to win a first ever honor.
