Saudi Arabia’s vice-minister of sport praised Qatar for their hosting of the World Cup in 2022 and said his country wanted to experience it for themselves as they bid to host the tournament in 2034. Saudi Arabia is seeking to host the showpiece after Fifa invited bids earlier this month from Asia and Oceania, setting a deadline of 31 October. Qatar was the first country in the Middle East to host the men’s World Cup in November and December last year. The Saudi vice-minister of sport, Bader Alkadi, has lauded the host nation despite strained diplomatic relations between the two Gulf states in recent years. “Like the pride you had in the UK when you hosted the Olympics, like how proud we are about us beating Argentina at the World Cup. And Qatar … we’re proud of what other countries have done delivering an excellent World Cup,” Alkadi said at the Leaders sports conference in London. “Definitely we want to have this at home. And we want to ensure that we develop our country to host such events at a high standard.” When asked about the fan experience at Qatar – which included no alcohol being served in stadiums, a decision made a week before the tournament began – Alkadi said people had enjoyed a unique experience. “And that’s something honestly we applaud our colleagues and Qatar for, for going through and definitely proving it is a possibility [and it] is something that we would want to repeat,” he added. He did not clarify if that meant Saudi Arabia would allow alcohol to be served in fan zones and hotels, as was the case in Qatar. Alcohol is banned in Saudi Arabia. Critics accuse the country of using its sovereign wealth fund to engage in “sportswashing” in the face of heavy criticism of its human rights record. Saudi Arabia denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, said last month he does not care about allegations of “sportswashing” and that he will continue funding sport if it adds to the country’s gross domestic product. Alkadi echoed those comments and said the vast investment in sport was to improve the lives of Saudi people. “Well, that would have been a difficult question [sportswashing] before the crown prince answered it. It’s not difficult any more. So definitely whatever we do in sports, we do it for our people,” Alkadi added. “And the numbers speak for themselves in terms of the growth in mass participation, in terms of the focus on elite athletes.”