Kingdom is the future of football, says global legend Yaya Toure

RIYADH: People will be “surprised and amazed” by the scale and ambition of the Kingdom’s bid for the FIFA World Cup 2034, according to the Saudi national team associate manager.

Former Manchester City and Barcelona player Yaya Toure, who joined Green Falcons head coach Robert Mancini in 2023, sat down with Arab News to discuss Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid.

When asked what he envisions the World Cup looking like in 10 years, Toure had just one word in response: “Futurist.”

“People… experiencing the World Cup in this part of the world, they will be surprised and amazed at what the Crown Prince (Mohammed bin Salman) and the government have tried to put together,” he said.

Toure added that “2034 is something very alive. Why do I say that? Because it’s going to be hosted in Saudi.”

The British-Ivorian footballer is taking all that he learned in his illustrious decades-long career and bringing it to the Saudi playing fields.

“I was a big dreamer,” Toure said. “Football… has given me everything.”

Toure said that in the 1990s and early 2000s, Saudi Arabia’s national football team performed well in the World Cup before entering a period of decline.

Now, after their eye-catching efforts at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, including the momentous defeat of the tournament’s ultimate winners, Argentina, in a group match, Saudi football is aiming higher than ever.

“The difference between the clubs I’ve been at previously and Saudi… the government and the people want to improve the sport by bringing in superstars, top coaches, and changing the facilities, the infrastructure, as well as targeting what’s most important — the future, the young. That’s what made me come in.”

Toure said that young Saudi players, such as Saud Abdulhamid, who recently joined Serie A club Roma, one of the biggest clubs in Italy, and Faisal Al-Ghamdi, currently on loan at the Belgian club Beerschot, as prime examples of what happens when a target is set and players meet the challenge.

Toure’s professional footballing career began in 1996 at the age of 12 when he joined the Ivorian Club ASEC Mimosas.

A decorated footballer who competed three times at the World Cup and six times at the Africa Cup of Nations, and was voted African footballer of the year four years in a row, Toure launched his coaching career with the Ukrainian Premier League club Olimpik Donetsk in 2021.

After brief tenures with the Russian Premier League and youth coaching at the Tottenham Hotspur Academy in London, he moved onto the Belgian club Standard Leige before finally making his way to the Saudi Arabia national football team, a side that he believes reflects the country’s vision for the future.

“If you want to develop,. you want to slowly build up yourself to be one of the top, you need to be surrounded by top high-level people who want to grow as well.”

Saudi Arabia has long been a passionate footballing nation, from children on the street organizing their own “leagues” to companies assigning days off to watch and celebrate Saudi tournaments.

Now, with major international stars playing for the Saudi Pro League, the world’s attention is firmly on the Kingdom — waiting for its next play.

“In a few near years, it’s going to become the country of football, for sure.”

The associate manager highlighted Saudi Arabia’s ambition to rapidly develop its footballing prowess and eventually surpass the top European nations.

“People have to understand that Saudi is coming fast,” he said.