Saudi Arabia's journey from 90s novelty to World Cup power grab

As Cristiano Ronaldo and Newcastle can attest, the 2034 hosts-elect are now at heart of football politics

- Paul MacInnes

1956-2015 Saudi Arabia's football history is lengthy and the country has long been one of the biggest players in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) was founded in 1956. The country's first international came the following year, at the same time as the foundation of its most successful club side, Al-Hilal (the other three clubs in Saudi's big four - Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli - are older). A Saudi league was established in the 1970s but it was not until the 1980s that the country featured in its first international tournament, the AFC Asian Cup, which it won in 1984.

A breakthrough in international recognition came when Saudi Arabia made their World Cup debut at USA 94. Qualifying from the group stages with victories over Belgium and Morocco, the Green Falcons gained the world's attention thanks to the memorable goal by Saeed al-Owairan against Belgium, the forward running with the ball from his own half and past three defenders before thrashing home and breaking into delirious celebration.

That glorious moment proved to be a high point. Although Saudi Arabia qualified for the next three World Cups they failed to win a match, the nadir an 8-0 defeat by Germany in 2002. In 2011, the team were similarly embarrassed in the Asian Cup, a competition Saudi had come to dominate, with three defeats in the group stage sending them home pointless.

2016-2018 In 2015, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud became king of Saudi Arabia. The following year he published a strategy for the future of the country, Vision 2030. A document that still guides the country's thinking, it contains the ambition to "achieve regional and global excellence in selected professional sports".