Arab Parliament Speaker: Saudi Arabia's Bid to Host 2034 FIFA World Cup Receives Highest Rating

File photo: Saudi delegation led by Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal, minister of sport and president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and Yasser Al-Misehal, Saudi Arabian Football Federation president, submitted the Kingdom's bid book to FIFA to host the FIFA World Cup 2034™ at a ceremony hosted in Paris, France, in July 2024. (SPA file photo)
File photo: Saudi delegation led by Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal, minister of sport and president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and Yasser Al-Misehal, Saudi Arabian Football Federation president, submitted the Kingdom's bid book to FIFA to host the FIFA World Cup 2034™ at a ceremony hosted in Paris, France, in July 2024. (SPA file photo)
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Arab Parliament Speaker: Saudi Arabia's Bid to Host 2034 FIFA World Cup Receives Highest Rating

File photo: Saudi delegation led by Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal, minister of sport and president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and Yasser Al-Misehal, Saudi Arabian Football Federation president, submitted the Kingdom's bid book to FIFA to host the FIFA World Cup 2034™ at a ceremony hosted in Paris, France, in July 2024. (SPA file photo)
File photo: Saudi delegation led by Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal, minister of sport and president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and Yasser Al-Misehal, Saudi Arabian Football Federation president, submitted the Kingdom's bid book to FIFA to host the FIFA World Cup 2034™ at a ceremony hosted in Paris, France, in July 2024. (SPA file photo)

The Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Mohammed Ahmed Al Yamahi, described the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup as receiving the highest rating in the history of the global event.
He hailed this achievement as a significant success for all Arabs in securing the opportunity to host major international events. Al Yamahi expressed confidence that Saudi Arabia would organize the tournament with exceptional excellence and capability, bringing pride and honor to the entire Arab world, the Saudi Press Agency said on Monday.
Al Yamahi emphasized in a statement that this new achievement adds to the Kingdom's record of accomplishments across various fields, including sports.
He attributed this success to the unwavering support of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, under the framework of Saudi Vision 2030.
Al Yamahi emphasized that their leadership and vision have been instrumental in achieving this historic milestone for the Kingdom and the Arab world.



Kalimuendo Has Hat Trick in Rennes Rout while PSG Held at Home

Rennes' French forward #09 Arnaud Kalimuendo celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal during the French L1 football match between Stade Rennais FC and Saint-Etienne (ASSE) at the Roazhon Park Stadium in Rennes, western France on November 30, 2024. (Photo by Damien Meyer / AFP)
Rennes' French forward #09 Arnaud Kalimuendo celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal during the French L1 football match between Stade Rennais FC and Saint-Etienne (ASSE) at the Roazhon Park Stadium in Rennes, western France on November 30, 2024. (Photo by Damien Meyer / AFP)
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Kalimuendo Has Hat Trick in Rennes Rout while PSG Held at Home

Rennes' French forward #09 Arnaud Kalimuendo celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal during the French L1 football match between Stade Rennais FC and Saint-Etienne (ASSE) at the Roazhon Park Stadium in Rennes, western France on November 30, 2024. (Photo by Damien Meyer / AFP)
Rennes' French forward #09 Arnaud Kalimuendo celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal during the French L1 football match between Stade Rennais FC and Saint-Etienne (ASSE) at the Roazhon Park Stadium in Rennes, western France on November 30, 2024. (Photo by Damien Meyer / AFP)

Striker Arnaud Kalimuendo scored a hat trick and Rennes got back to winning ways in Ligue 1 by thrashing 10-man Saint-Etienne 5-0 on Saturday.
Meanwhile, leader Paris Saint-Germian dropped points at home when it drew with Nantes 1-1.
Rennes coach Jorge Sampaoli's first win with his new team came in his second match in charge after he took over this month, The Associated Press reported.
Rennes had failed to score in more than a month and lost its three previous matches. The result lifted the host one point above Saint-Etienne.
Visiting Saint-Etienne made things difficult for itself when Mathieu Cafaro, who hit the post earlier, was sent off for a handball in the box in the 37th minute.
Kalimuendo put Rennes in the driving seat from the penalty spot two minutes later, and they returned to the locker room with a two-goal lead after Ludovic Blas, who was excellent throughout, found the net in added time.
Kalimuendo added another goal with a nice finish and converted a second penalty to seal his first Ligue 1 hat trick. Amine Gouiri also scored.
“We’re not going to say that everything clicked; we’re not going to get carried away. But it’s true that it feels good to win, to score a lot of goals, and to keep a clean sheet," Gouiri said. “However, we were helped by that red card. We need to enjoy this but not get ahead of ourselves. We have to build on the positives to keep going. It’s good for confidence."
The fiery Sampaoli returned to French soccer following a previous stint with Marseille. Sampaoli was in charge of Argentina at the 2018 World Cup. He has also coached clubs in Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Spain and Brazil. Sampaoli abruptly left Marseille in July 2022 after leading the team back to the Champions League, over a disagreement related to the club’s transfers of players.
PSG held at home PSG could not hold onto an early lead against Nantes at Parc des Princes.
Achraf Hakimi put PSG in front early but the hosts were wasteful against a very defensive Nantes that leveled against the run of the play before the interval. Matthis Abline beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a left-footed shot after dribbling past Willian Pacho.
Donnarumma, who was dropped midweek during a 1-0 Champions League loss at Bayern Munich, made a reflex save near the hour mark to salvage the draw.
Uninspired, Luis Enrique’s team remained unbeaten in the league, extending its lead over second-placed Monaco to seven points. The Principality side travels to third-placed Marseille on Sunday.
Nantes remained 16th, the relegation playoff position.
Brest bounces back The Brittany side recovered from a 3-0 loss at Barcelona in the Champions League midweek by beating Strasbourg 3-1. The result snapped a three-match losing run in Ligue 1, and moved Brest to 10th place.