FIFA Gets $1B Saudi Arabia Loan To Build, Refurbish Stadiums Worldwide
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 at 03:03PM NYSJ Sports-Entertainment Business News Service
November 25, 2025: Continuing its financial game plan in global sports, Saudi Arabia via its Saudi Fund for Development has signed “a Memorandum of Understanding” with FIFA to “allocate up to $1 billion in concessional loans for the construction and rehabilitation of sports stadiums and essential surrounding infrastructure in developing countries around the world.”
The program will ”prioritize developing nations and their respective FIFA Member Associations, helping them invest in facilities that drive growth, create opportunity, and inspire participation at every level.”
“FIFA's role is to develop football worldwide, and many of our FIFA Member Associations need additional support for the infrastructure necessary to host competitions,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said via the organization.
“Through this memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Fund for Development, up to $1 billion will be made available via concessional loans to finance the construction and enhancement of FIFA-certified stadiums.”
According to FIFA, with 211 Member Associations worldwide, the gap between nations with world-class facilities and those without remains wide.
“This agreement is a crucial step in ensuring our FIFA Member Associations have the facilities to make football truly global,” said Infantino,
The move coincides with FIFA signing Saudi state oil company Aramco as a 2026 World Cup sponsor.
According to the Saudi Fund for Development and FIFA, “This partnership seeks to support national governments in designing, financing, and building modern multi-sport venues that meet international standards and serve as hubs for community life, education, and inclusion.
“The new facilities will create jobs, stimulate local businesses, and strengthen social cohesion by giving young people safe and modern spaces to convene, train and compete.”
Through these concessional loans, Saudi Fund for Development and FIFA said they would “actively collaborate with national authorities to deliver projects that contribute to long-term economic resilience and local capacity building.”
The initiative will also act as seed financing to “attract other development institutions, private-sector partners, and regional organizations, creating a scalable model for sustainable sports development across emerging economies.”
Saudi Fund for Development said this partnership is “elevating sport infrastructure as a core component of its development agenda, recognizing the sector’s unique ability to generate employment, boost tourism, promote health, and strengthen community ties.
“Building on over five decades of impact — supporting more than 800 development projects worth over $22 billion across 100 countries — Saudi Fund for Development continues to drive sustainable growth through development financing and projects that improve lives and foster lasting prosperity.”
“Sport is more than competition — it’s a catalyst for development and inclusion,” Saudi Fund for Development CEO Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, said via the agency. ”Through concessional financing, we are helping countries build the infrastructure they need to unlock potential, empower young people, and strengthen communities for generations to come.”
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