Saudi Arabia have officially been confirmed as hosts of the men’s 2034 World Cup.
With Saudi the only bidders, at a virtual meeting on Wednesday Fifa rubber-stamped what will be the second World Cup to be staged in the Middle East after Qatar 2022.
The 2034 edition is expected to follow Qatar’s lead by taking place in the winter, and would therefore lead to another mid-season disruption for the Premier League, EFL and other domestic campaigns across Europe.
“The vote of the congress is loud and clear,” said Fifa president Gianni Infantino, after asking officials from more than 200 member federations to applaud at head level to show their approval on screen.
It is believed England’s Football Association (FA) backed the 2034 World Cup, while Norway’s football federation had said it would abstain from the vote.
The so-called “Extraordinary Fifa Congress” also named Morocco, Portugal and Spain as joint hosts of the 2030 World Cup – but that’s not all.
With that tournament falling 100 years after the inaugural World Cup, as part of the centenary celebrations three matches will be played in a third continent.
Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will all host one game each, making for 104 matches across six countries.
Uruguay won and hosted the 1930 edition, beating Argentina in the final, while the headquarters of Conmebol – South America’s football governing body – are in Paraguay.
“Thank you for your vision, for your courage, leadership, and ultimately for your unanimous decision to reach an historic compromise … to present a truly unique proposal that truly unites the world,” Fifa president Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday of the six-country 2030 World Cup.
“This was only possible because there was understanding, for each other. There was respect for each other. Everyone moved one or more steps towards the other. Everyone gave up something for the benefit of all. These are precisely the values which are at the heart of Fifa, of football, and all of you.
“In today’s divided world where it seems no one can agree with anything, to be able to agree on something like that is definitely an incredible message of unity and positivity.”
With Canada, Mexico and the United States hosting the 2026 edition, and Europe, Africa and South America all sharing duties in 2030, that paved the way for a 2034 World Cup in Asia.
Australia, who are affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation, opted against bidding last October, making Saudi the sole bidders.
Despite requiring 11 new stadiums – including one in the yet to be built city of Neom – Fifa scored Saudi’s bid 419.8 out of a possible 500 in their evaluation report released last month, making for the highest ever rating.
As part of its overall risk assessment, the report dubbed human rights a “medium” risk, concluding: “There is a good potential that the tournament could serve as a catalyst for some of the ongoing and future reforms and contribute to positive human rights outcomes for people in Saudi Arabia and the region that go beyond the scope of the tournament itself.”
Saudi Arabia criminalises homosexuality with imprisonment, flogging and occasionally the death penalty, while Human Rights Watch reported there have been 214 executions in 2024 (as of 9 October) – the highest amount in one year this century.
“Fifa is wilfully blind to the country’s human rights record, setting up a decade of potentially horrific human rights abuses preparing for the 2034 World Cup,” Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, said last month.
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