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 said on Tuesday.
FIFA had invited bids from Asia and Oceania for the tournament by Oct. 31, and Saudi Arabia announced it would bid only minutes after the announcement on Oct 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.
Saudi FA President Yasser Al Misehal said the federation is fully committed to fulfilling all FIFA requirements for the right to host the World Cup.
Saudi Arabia sole bidder to host 2034 World Cup
Acquiring the rights to host the World Cup, a policy which emanates directly from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, would be the latest step by Saudi Arabia to plant itself firmly in the center of the sports world and, according to its detractors, divert international attention from its human rights violations.
The country is already preparing to host the next Club World Cup at the end of December and the 2027 Asian Cup.
It is also behind the breakaway LIV golf, hosts major boxing matches and horse races and its football clubs have started signing up some of the biggest names in world football, including Ballon d’Or winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
More surprisingly and widely criticized, the kingdom will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games in a futuristic complex under construction in Neom.
By securing the world’s most popular tournament, however, the kingdom faces an even bigger job than its neighbor and sometime rival Qatar, the surprise host of the 2022 World Cup.
The tournament will no longer be a 32-team event. From 2026, 48 teams will be present at the finals.
“All members of the Saudi football family are doing their best to achieve the dream of the Saudis male and females to see the World Cup in the Kingdom for the first time,” he said on social media platform X.
“We believe in the great power of football to inspire future generations and we hope World Cup 2034 contributes to the development of the game throughout the world.”
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.
On Oct. 4 FIFA announced that the combined bid of Morocco Spain and Portugal would host the 2030 World Cup subject to the completion of a successful bidding process.Saudi Arabia sole bidder to host 2034 World Cup
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The international football association, FIFA, confirmed that Saudi Arabia was the only football association to present a bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup before the deadline closed on October 31, 2023.
FIFA had invited bids from Asia and Oceania for the tournament, and Saudi Arabia announced it would bid only minutes after the announcement on October 4. Meanwhile, 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.
Reporting by Trevor Stynes about Saudi Arabia sole bidder to host 2034 World Cup, additional reporting by Ashraf Atta Hamed; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Christian Radnedge