Saudi Arabia and Croatia take advantage of World Cup bonhomie to sign memorandum of understanding for future

November 17 – The Saudi Football Federation (SAFF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) to explore collaboration at all levels of the game.

The signing came ahead of Saudi Arabia and Croatia's final friendly in Riyadh (Croatia won 1-0) before the two countries begin their World Cup campaigns next week.

"Croatia are among the world's elite footballing nations, and their national team captured the world's attention four years ago by reaching the final of the FIFA World Cup. Their 2018 campaign will forever go down in the history books. We are delighted to have welcomed them to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the past few days ahead of their trip to Doha,” said SAFF President Yasser Almisehal Al Misehal.

Saudi Arabia is rapidly expanding its footballing knowledge base and infrastructure as it develops both its competitiveness on the playing field and its ambition to host major events. It is a bid to host the 2027 Asian Cup as well as a new three-country bid with Egypt and Greece for the 2030 World Cup.

HNS President Marijan Kustić said: "We would like to thank our friends from the Saudi Football Federation for their kind hospitality in Riyadh and wish them good luck for the FIFA World Cup. We are extremely happy to launch a new chapter of collaboration and partnership between our two nations.”

Kustić in particular highlighted the development of women's football in the Kingdom. "I was particularly impressed by the fascinating journey of women's football in just a few years. It is a really great story and I congratulate the SAFF team for the important work they do in different areas of women's football."< /p>

Women's football in Saudi Arabia has seen unprecedented investment in areas such as grassroots player development, competitions, coaching, officiating and governance over the past three years . SAFF has expressed interest in bidding for the 2026 Women's Asian Cup, having created its first women's national team last year, followed by the women's football premier league and the girls' school league.

Saudi Arabia's men's national team kick off their World Cup campaign against Argentina on November 22. Croatia open their campaign a day later against Morocco.

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