Saudi Arabia is set to host the 2034 men’s football World Cup after Australia, the only other contender, opted against mounting a rival bid.
Fifa, world football’s governing body, said Saudi Arabia’s “declaration of interest” was the only one submitted on Tuesday — a deadline for would-be bidders that was only set this month.
Football Australia had earlier said that it had “explored the opportunity” of seeking to host the 2034 event, but had “reached the conclusion not to do so”. This cleared the path for Saudi Arabia to secure the hosting rights for 2034 unopposed.
The process for picking a host for the biggest tournament in men’s football was abruptly reshaped by Fifa this month when the game’s global governing body announced that the 2030 tournament had been awarded to a joint bid from Spain, Portugal and Morocco. This in effect prevented all European and African nations from bidding for 2034.
In a highly unusual step, Fifa then said that three games would take place in South America to mark the centenary of the first World Cup, which was held in Uruguay. With the US, Canada and Mexico hosting the 2026 tournament, only countries in Asia and Oceania were permitted to bid for 2034.
Crucially, Fifa also sharply curtailed the entire bidding process for 2034, giving would-be hosts just three weeks to submit their expressions of interest. Saudi Arabia confirmed its intention to bid within minutes of the announcement.
“We believe the time is right for Saudi Arabia to host the Fifa World Cup”, said Yasser Al Misehal, president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, in a statement shortly after the 2030 hosts were announced.
The Asian Football Confederation, which counts both Saudi Arabia and Australia as members, said soon after that it backed Riyadh’s bid.
The Gulf kingdom’s proposal quickly drew wider support, the fruits of the kingdom’s brief but intense campaign to build ties in the world’s most watched sport. The Saudi football federation has signed dozens of co-operation agreements with its counterparts in all corners of the globe in the past year, while sponsors from the kingdom have been actively looking for deals with both clubs and organisers of football tournaments.
Saudi Arabia’s unopposed bid will accelerate its push into football, which is part of its broader expansion into global sport. Saudi clubs spent more than €800mn on transfer fees over the summer transfer window to bring big-name players to its domestic league. The true level of spending was likely far higher due to the bumper pay packets on offer to stars including former Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema and Brazilian forward Neymar.
A Saudi World Cup, which has already drawn sharp criticism from rights campaigners and fan groups, will reignite the fierce debate over human rights that dominated the run-up to the last edition of the tournament, which was held late last year in Qatar.
Australia said it would instead focus on bids to host the Women’s Asian Cup in 2026 and the Club World Cup, a new tournament pitting club sides from across the globe against each other, in 2029.
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