Saudi Arabia in Talks for 2025 Gold Cup in the US and Canada

The Saudi Arabia national football team is in talks over its participation in the 2025 Gold Cup, which will take place in the United States and Canada.

The official lineup for the competition will not be revealed until March, but Saudi Arabia seems to be increasingly likely to be one of the 16 national teams to appear in the Gold Cup.

The Gold Cup is organized by CONCACAF, which is football’s governing body in North and Central America, as well as the Caribbean. Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the competition would also build upon a year in which this federation invested heavily in CONCACAF.

CONCACAF signed a multi-year deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund

In August 2024, CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani said in a statement that the deal was a “strategic partnership which will support the confederation in developing all levels of football across our region.”

This was not the first partnership that CONCACAF had with Saudi-owned corporations. CONCACAF’s deal with Saudi’s PIF follows the sponsorship deal the governing body has with Aramco, one of the world’s largest oil corporations which is mainly owned by the Saudi government.

The partnership has been extremely profitable, as Aramco became the confederation energy partner for all CONCACAF teams and competitions. This obviously includes clubs from Liga MX and the MLS. 

It is crucial to remark, however, that CONCACAF and the Saudi Federation have not commented officially on their participation in the Gold Cup, with the tournament set to begin on June 14th and end on July 6th.

Most Gold Cup Venues where Saudi Arabia would play will be on the West Coast of the United States

The football world is set to place its eyes on the United States in the summer of 2025, as, in addition to the Gold Cup, the first Club World Cup will also be played in the country. Most venues of this FIFA competition that will feature the likes of Real Madrid, River Plate, and Manchester City, will be played in the West Coast in the US.

Thus far, the United States and Canada have qualified for the competition because they are hosting the event, and Mexico has also qualified due to the fact that they are the current champions of the competition.

Haiti, El Salvador, Curacao, Panama, and the Dominican Republic have also booked their tickets for the competition.

If Saudi Arabia’s presence was to be confirmed, this would not be the first time a national team outside CONCACAF was invited to play in the tournament.

Qatar was the last team to be invited, playing in the 2021 and 2023 editions of the tournament. Other notable participants have been Brazil, which played in the Cup in 1996, 1998, and 2003, and South Korea in 2000 and 2002.