Saudi Arabia to host 2034 FIFA World Cup

For the first time in football history, Saudi Arabia is set to be confirmed as the host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup, marking another milestone for the Gulf region following Qatar’s hosting of the tournament in 2022.

Simultaneously, a joint bid by Morocco, Spain, and Portugal—featuring matches in South America—will host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, commemorating the tournament’s centenary.

These decisions will be finalized during an upcoming virtual FIFA Congress, where the outcomes are virtually guaranteed as both bids have no rivals.

The 2034 decision aligns with FIFA’s principle of rotating its flagship tournament between continents. This time, bids were restricted to Asia and Oceania, following the hosting of the 2026 World Cup in North America. However, the bidding process has sparked controversy.

FIFA gave potential candidates less than a month to declare their interest, leading Australia and Indonesia to abandon their bids, leaving Saudi Arabia as the sole contender.

The kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been using sport for some time to amass influence and improve its global image — critics though say he is effectively “sportswashing” by diverting attention from Saudi Arabia’s rights record.

Saudi Arabia already hosts several high-profile events including a Formula One Grand Prix, heavyweight boxing contests, the LIV rival golf circuit funded by Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund, and the WTA Finals tennis.

Being handed the 2034 World Cup will be a crowning moment, and Saudi will secure hosting rights despite currently only boasting two stadiums with a capacity of 40,000, when 14 are required.

Beyond that logistical challenge, the baking temperatures in the northern hemisphere summer could mean pushing the tournament back to later in the year, as happened in Qatar in 2022.

However, the fact that Ramadan will take place in December that year is an added complication.

Moreover, the awarding of the World Cup to Saudi will make the issue of human rights a major talking point again, just as two years ago.

The 2030 tournament will mark a century since the first World Cup was held in Uruguay, and as a result the bid will also see the South American nation handed a game along with Argentina and Paraguay.

That makes it a completely unprecedented bid, involving three different continental confederations.

FIFA confirmed over a year ago that the joint proposal led by Morocco, Spain and Portugal was the sole contender for 2030, with all other potential candidacies having fallen by the wayside.

A joint British and Irish bid was abandoned when they decided to focus on hosting Euro 2028, while there were suggestions of a bid from South Korea, China, Japan and North Korea.

Four South American countries launched a joint bid in 2019, convinced that the centenary World Cup should entirely take place on the same continent where it all began.

In late 2022, UEFA promoted a bid uniting Spain and Portugal with war-torn Ukraine in a show of “solidarity” following the Russian invasion.

However, Ukraine was quietly dropped from that candidacy last year as Morocco joined forces with the Iberian neighbours, while South America agreed to step aside in exchange for being awarded the hosting of three games, one each for Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.