Saudi Arabia to host FIFA World Cup for the first time in history
For the first time in football history, FIFA is set to confirm Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2034 World Cup.
Meanwhile, a joint bid from Morocco, Spain, and Portugal, which includes matches in South America, will be awarded the 2030 tournament.
Both hosting decisions are expected to be approved in a vote during a virtual FIFA Congress, with no competing bids in contention.
For the 2034 World Cup, FIFA applied its principle of rotating the tournament between continents, allowing bids only from Asia or Oceania. The 2026 World Cup, the first to feature 48 teams, will be hosted across North America.
Controversially, FIFA gave potential bidders less than a month last year to submit their candidacies, leading Australia and Indonesia to quickly withdraw their interest.
READ ALSO: 2030 World Cup across 3 continents raises climate change concerns
This left Saudi Arabia as the only candidate, paving the way for the World Cup to return to the Gulf region just two years after Qatar hosted in 2022.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, has been using sport to enhance his influence and improve Saudi Arabia’s global image. However, critics argue that he is engaging in “sportswashing” to divert attention from the country’s human rights record.
Saudi Arabia already hosts several high-profile events, including a Formula One Grand Prix, heavyweight boxing matches, the LIV Golf circuit funded by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, and the WTA Finals tennis.
Securing the 2034 World Cup will be a crowning achievement for Saudi Arabia, although it currently has only two stadiums with a capacity of 40,000, while 14 are required.
In addition to this logistical challenge, the extreme summer temperatures in the northern hemisphere may force the tournament to be moved to a later date, similar to the schedule change made for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The fact that Ramadan will take place in December 2034 adds another complication for Saudi Arabia, which is set to host the World Cup that year.
Additionally, the awarding of the World Cup to Saudi Arabia will once again bring human rights concerns to the forefront, just as it did two years ago.
The 2030 tournament will mark the centenary of the first World Cup in Uruguay, and as part of this historic occasion, the South American nation will be granted a game, along with Argentina and Paraguay. This creates an 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 only contender for 2030, with all other potential bids falling through.
A joint British and Irish bid was abandoned when the countries chose to focus on hosting Euro 2028. There were also discussions of a bid from South Korea, China, Japan, and North Korea.
In 2019, four South American countries launched a bid, believing the centenary World Cup should be held entirely in the continent where it all began.
In late 2022, UEFA backed a bid uniting Spain and Portugal with Ukraine, in a show of “solidarity” following Russia’s invasion. However, Ukraine was quietly removed from the proposal last year, as Morocco joined forces with Spain and Portugal, while South America agreed to step aside in exchange for hosting three games, one each in Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Proofreading by Uchechi Ojo, Sub-editor at NeptunePrime.
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