SAUDI Arabia is set to host the 2034 men’s FIFA World Cup after Australia withdrew its interest in hosting the global showpiece just hours before the bid deadline on Tuesday.
“We have explored the opportunity to bid to host the FIFA World Cup and – having taken all factors into consideration – we have reached the conclusion not to do so for the 2034 competition,” Football Australia said in a statement.
Instead the Australia football federation has opted to proceed with their bids for the Women’s Asian Cup in 2026 and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2029.
Australia’s withdrawal leaves Saudi Arabia as the only confirmed bidder. The Gulf nation announced its bid on October 4 immediately following FIFA’s surprise invitation for expressions of interest from only Asia and Oceania for the 2034 tournament.
In a press release sent out on Tuesday, FIFA confirmed that Saudi Arabia was the only bidder for the 2034 tournament. However, FIFA said that it will still “conduct thorough bidding and evaluation processes” for the 2030 and 2034 tournaments, with the hosts set to be confirmed by October.
Spain, Portugal and Morocco are due to co-host the 2030 tournament, while Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina will all stage an opening match each to mark 100 years since the first World Cup took place.
FIFA added that it will remain in contact with the bidders to ensure that “complete, comprehensive bids” are received, which will then be evaluated against the “minimum hosting requirements as previously approved by the FIFA Council.”
FIFA says the “priority areas” for the bids are infrastructure, services, commercial and sustainability, and human rights.
