Deschamps invited to reshape Saudi Arabia’s football system for long-term development and 2034 World Cup bid.
Core Summary: As the countdown to the conclusion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico progresses, Didier Deschamps, the head coach of the French national football team, has confirmed his plan to step down. Concurrently, Saudi Arabia’s pursuit of the World Cup-winning tactician has reached a critical stage. According to an exclusive report from Sky Sports Switzerland, Saudi football authorities are not aiming to appoint Deschamps as a coach in the Saudi Pro League. Instead, they intend to present him with an 8-year mega contract to serve as a senior strategic consultant, tasked with comprehensively overseeing the restructuring of Saudi Arabia’s national football team system.
Inviting Deschamps: 4 Core Duties to Reshape Saudi Arabia’s Football System in 10 Years
Multiple credible international sports media reports confirm that Didier Deschamps, the French coach who led France to win the 2018 World Cup and reach the 2022 final, has become the top candidate for the Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s head coach position. The core purpose of Saudi’s high-profile invitation is to entrust Deschamps with reshaping Saudi Arabia’s football system—a task regarded by Saudi football authorities as the core of the national football development strategy. This is not a short-term impulsive decision, but a well-planned layout under Saudi’s long-term football plan, reflecting its determination to break through industry bottlenecks by relying on top international coaching resources and advanced concepts.
To ensure the smooth progress of reshaping Saudi Arabia’s football system, the Saudi Football Federation has made it clear in preliminary negotiations that Deschamps will be granted full authority in football-related technical and strategic decisions if he takes office. This includes command of the national men’s team, overall planning of the youth training system, improvement of the national team and domestic league tactical systems, and formulation of talent selection standards. Such high authorization is rare in international football cooperation, demonstrating Saudi’s trust in Deschamps’ professionalism and its sincerity in promoting in-depth systematic football reform.
According to the preliminary cooperation framework, Deschamps’ mandate will revolve around four core duties, the key pillars for effectively reshaping Saudi Arabia’s football system. First, he will build a hierarchical coaching training system tailored to Saudi’s football reality, covering grassroots youth to professional league coaches. Second, he will localize advanced European training methods and tactical concepts, combining Saudi players’ characteristics to form a unique style. Third, he will optimize the scientific player selection mechanism integrating technology, physical fitness and psychology. Fourth, he will expand the global talent scouting network to tap domestic young players and overseas Saudi-descent talents. These complementary tasks aim to fill gaps in the current system and lay a foundation for sustainable development.
Saudi Arabia’s strategic goal in inviting Deschamps is clear: to leverage his experience in leading top teams and building systematic football systems to promote long-term development of Saudi football. This is a 10-year-plus blueprint, with the ultimate goal of building a world-class national team and laying the groundwork for hosting the 2034 World Cup. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has increased football investment, introducing superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to boost league influence and professionalism. Inviting Deschamps marks a key shift from “star-driven short-term growth” to “system-driven long-term development.”
The international football community sees Deschamps’ potential appointment as a crucial turning point for Saudi football. His expertise in reshaping Saudi Arabia’s football system will drive the upgrading of the entire industry chain, including youth training and talent reserve. Successful cooperation will accelerate Saudi Arabia’s global football rise and set a reference for other emerging football nations. The two sides are currently in in-depth negotiations on contract details, with global football attention.
