FIFA has released its evaluation report for Saudi Arabia’s unopposed bid to host the men’s World Cup in 2034, paving the way for the kingdom to be formally awarded the finals next month.
Despite long-standing concerns over the country’s human rights record, the governing body has awarded the bid “an average score of 4.2 out of 5” – the highest ever.
Fifa says staging the tournament in the kingdom represented a ‘medium’ human rights risk, claiming it had “good potential to act as a catalyst” for reforms.
Campaign groups immediately condemned the bid evaluation.
Fifa also insisted that despite the construction programme the world’s biggest oil exporter is embarking on, the Saudi bid had “a good overall commitment to sustainability”, and was deemed ‘low risk’ when it came to environmental protection.
Noting that summer temperatures “can exceed 40C”, Fifa admits an “elevated risk in terms of event timing” because of the kingdom’s climate, and says the bid “does not stipulate a proposed window” for scheduling.
It says “the exercise of identifying the optimal window for the competition brings with it some complexities”.
However, amid expectations it will have to be staged in the winter months as Qatar did in 2022, the report says Saudi Arabia “pledges to collaborate closely… to determine the optimal timing for the competition”.
Fifa said the 2030 World Cup bid, which will take place on three continents, had also exceeded minimum hosting requirements, but noted it would cause “a significant negative impact on the climate”.
The 2030 tournament will be co-hosted by Spain and Portugal in Europe and Morocco in Africa, while the opening three matches will take place in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay in South America to mark the World Cup’s centenary.
The official ratification of both tournaments’ respective hosts is set to take place at a Fifa Congress on 11 December.
