But the Ministry of Youth and Sports claims this time will be different. “The state is carrying out huge projects in infrastructure, fixing roads, transportation and electricity issues,” Mohammed Fawzi, the spokesman for the Ministry of Youth and Sports, told Al-Monitor. “ Egypt’s stadiums , such as Alexandria’s Borg El Arab Stadium and Cairo Stadium, are among the best in the world . Many more stadiums will need to be built, renovated and expanded according to FIFA requirements. In addition, Egypt has some of the best hotels in the world.”

Many fear that the 2030 World Cup dossier will be managed in a way that could publicly humiliate Egypt, remembering when Egypt’s bid to host the 2010 World Cup received zero votes 14 years ago.

Concern over the economic burden of such ventures is not new. Back in 2015 , Hany Abo Rida, the president of the Egyptian Football Association and a member of the FIFA Executive Committee, told the local press that Egypt should prioritize its own development plans rather than take on the cost of hosting international competitions.

Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhi’s July 10 announcement of Egypt's intention to host both games was met with immediate criticism, as the Egyptian public took to social media to question the timing and the Egyptian economy’s ability to bear the related expenses such as building or improving stadiums, roads, railways and hotels.

CAIRO — Eager to promote Egypt as a venue for international sporting events, Cairo made a bid this month for the 2030 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament and the 2032 Olympic Games. But many Egyptians are unsure, worried about the expense as well as the potential for humiliation.

Fawzi said that he would rather not get into the woes and disappointment over the 2010 World Cup vote, saying that any setback for Egypt was compensated for when the country got to organize the 2009 World Youth Championship.

“Egypt was shown in a different light after all the testimonies by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, news agencies and guests of the participating teams. Egypt also has a long history in hosting African soccerl tournaments,” he said. “It has many cultural and touristic advantages in addition to the infrastructure, climate and geographically distinct position to organize any tournament. This was highlighted in the various international and African sports tournaments organized by Egypt on its own soil. So if there is one country capable of organizing the World Cup, it’s Egypt.”

The head of parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee, Mohammed Faraj Amer, told Al-Monitor that Egypt's intention to host the World Cup will represent a giant leap in improving the country’s infrastructure, including roads and public transportation as well as services in terms of health care, internet access and other sectors.

“By hosting the World Cup, Egypt does not aim to be internationally famous or spend large sums of money at the expense of the economy,” he said. “On the contrary, both the Egyptian economy and the Egyptian citizens will benefit from the number of tourists that will visit the country and the job opportunities.”

Faraj Amer continued, “The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be attended by 48 teams instead of 32, so Egypt will need 16 stadiums in 12 cities to host the games. In the past, the 24-member FIFA Executive Committee used to hold a secret ballot to vote. However, now all 209 FIFA member associations will participate in an open vote. This is why it is possible for Egypt to ally with Tunisia and Morocco to submit a tripartite bid, through which the stadiums of the three countries will be used to reduce and share costs and compete against Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.”

Faraj Amer stressed that Egypt's shutout in the voting over what country would host the 2010 World Cup will not be repeated because Egypt will engage professionals to promote Egypt's bid, so that the lobbying and public relations will not be left to amateurs, as happened in 2004.

But some critics claim that the process will be far from smooth. Sports writer Yasser Ayoub told Al-Monitor that preparations to host the World Cup would be far too costly. “Egypt’s main hotels are located in cities with no stadiums, such as Sharm el-Sheikh, Luxor, Aswan. On the other hand, cities where stadiums are located lack hotels, such as Bani Obaid city in Dakahlia governorate where Bani Obaid Stadium is located and Nag Hammadi governorate where Aluminum Stadium is located,” he said. “There are no 12 Egyptian cities equipped to host the World Cup and most of the existing stadiums’ capacity barely amounts to 40,000. It thus does not meet FIFA requirements and the construction process would cost an arm and a leg.”

He said, “Russia spent $13.2 billion on the 2018 World Cup to host 32 teams, which is three times more than what South Africa had to spend for the 2014 World Cup. We can conclude that the cost of organizing the 2030 World Cup in Egypt may be six times that of Russia and will need to provide $79 billion for the World Cup in 2030. This is why, based on the current economic conditions, Egypt cannot host the World Cup.”

Ayoub added, “The new voting method by the FIFA Congress rather than the FIFA Executive Committee will help combat financial corruption by members of the Executive Committee, such as receiving bribes in exchange for voting for a particular country. But at the same time, it allows for political, economic and military pressure from superpowers to [win the right to] organize such tournaments," such as the successful joint US, Canadian and Mexican bid to host in 2026.

Abdel-Aziz Ghoneim, the president of the Egyptian Boxing Federation, a member of the Egyptian Olympic Committee and the head of Egypt's mission at the upcoming Youth Olympics in Argentina, told Al-Monitor that between now and the 2032 Olympics, a lot of coordination can be achieved between Egypt's ministries to share this responsibility with the Ministry of Sports. For example, cooperation with other Arab countries such as Morocco and Tunisia requires intervention from the political leadership, not just the Ministry of Youth, he said.