Saudi Arabia Sole Bidder To Host 2034 World Cup

Saudi Arabia was the only football association to present a bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup before the deadline closed, soccer’s global governing body FIFA confirmed yesterday. FIFA had invited bids from Asia and Oceania for the tournament by Tuesday, and Saudi Arabia announced it would bid only minutes after the announcement on October 4.

Australia said on Tuesday it would not be presenting a bid to host the tournament, leaving Saudi Arabia as the only candidate.

“As established in the Bidding Regulations approved by the FIFA Council, the FIFA administration will conduct thorough bidding and evaluation processes for the 2030 and 2034 editions of the FIFA World Cup, with the hosts to be appointed by FIFA Congresses expected to take place by Q4 2024,” FIFA said.

FIFA also confirmed that the sole confirmation of interest in hosting the 2030 World Cup came from Morocco, Portugal and Spain with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay hosting celebratory games.

FIFA still needs to rubber stamp Saudi Arabia as the host — a decision that is likely to be made late next year — but that now seems a formality.

Saudi Arabia’s sports spending program approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been described as sportswashing to soften a national image often associated with its record on women’s rights and the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has built close ties to Saudi soccer and the crown prince personally, and has long been seen as trying to steer the world soccer body’s competitions toward the kingdom.

When FIFA made deal this month to have just one host bid for the 2030 World Cup — uniting Spain, Portugal and Morocco with three games placed in South America — it also fast-tracked the 2034 hosting race with only member federations in Asia and Oceania eligible to bid. The tight deadline gave them less than four weeks to enter the race by Tuesday and just one month more to sign a bidding agreement that requires government support.