In a video: former official outlines a plan for Saudi Arabia to win the World Cup

Can "the Greens" do it?

A former official has drawn up a plan to help the Saudi national team win the World Cup for the first time in its history, in the 2046 edition.

The Saudis have featured at seven World Cups. Their finest hour came on debut in 1994, when they reached the second round, but they have never managed it since.

Faisal Al-Abdulhadi, the former secretary-general of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, told the "Thmanyah" channels that the national team needs several things in place to win the 1946 World Cup.

"First, the problems that exist in football in general must be eradicated, the most prominent being determining who controls Saudi football," he explained.

"The members of the general assembly are the ones who control Saudi football, and if the general assembly is weak, then the board of directors can control matters as it wishes," he added.

"Likewise, if the general assembly is strong, its output is strong," he went on.

"The general assembly comes from the clubs, the representatives of the national coaches, the referees, and the Olympic committee, but the problem is that these members are not selected in the best possible way," he concluded.

Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup finals, becoming the third Arab country to earn the honour. Qatar staged the 2022 edition, while Morocco share the 2030 tournament with Spain and Portugal.