The 2034 FIFA World Cup will be the 25th edition of the tournament, and Saudi Arabia has been announced as the host country, as it was the only nation to submit a bid in time for FIFA’s deadline of 31 October 2023.
FIFA restricted hosting eligibility to Asia and Oceania after announcing the 2030 World Cup would be held across Africa, Europe, and South America. This move paved the way for Saudi Arabia’s successful bid, as they were the only country to submit a bid by the October 31, 2023 deadline.
FIFA also unexpectedly sped up the bidding timeline by at least three years, which hindered other potential bidders. According to reporting by The New York Times, FIFA president Gianni Infantino played a key role in the selection of Saudi Arabia as host.
Host selection
The bidding process began on October 4, 2023, with FIFA initially using the same requirements as the 2030 World Cup. However, FIFA later lowered the requirement for existing stadiums with a minimum capacity of 40,000 from seven to four.
Due to FIFA’s confederation rotation policy, only member associations from the Asian Football Confederation and Oceania Football Confederation were eligible to host.
FIFA made the decision to host the 2030 World Cup in three continents (Africa, Europe and South America) and the 2026 World Cup was set to be held in North America, which meant that the 2034 World Cup would necessarily have to be held in Asia or Oceania.
On 31 October 2023, FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced that Saudi Arabia would host the 2034 World Cup, making it the third time the Asian Football Confederation has or will host the World Cup, after the 2002 tournament, which was hosted in Japan and South Korea and the 2022 tournamentin Qatar, as well as the second time being held in the Middle East, after Qatar 2022.
According to The New York Times, Infantino played a key role in the selection of Saudi Arabia as host. He explored whether Greece would partner with Saudi Arabia to host the 2030 World Cup, and when Spain, Portugal, and Morocco announced their joint bid for 2030, the Saudis backed out.
FIFA subsequently made two moves that The New York Times described as “curious”, as FIFA announced that the first three games of the 2030 World Cup would be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay while the rest would be played in Spain, Morocco and Portugal.
This decision ruled Europe, Africa and South America out as potential bidders for the 2034 World Cup, and meant that the only potential bidders could be from Asia or Oceania.
FIFA also unexpectedly sped up the bidding process for the 2034 World Cup, giving only 25 days for interested nations to express their intent to host. Within minutes, Saudi Arabia announced that it wanted to host.
Voting
The FIFA Congress vote saw Saudi Arabia win the bid with 210 votes, exceeding the required majority of 106.
Bids
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia shifted its focus to a solo 2034 bid after withdrawing from the 2030 bid with Greece and Egypt. Similar strategies to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which was held in November–December as opposed to the usual summer scheduling, may be used to mitigate the country’s summer heat, though SAFF insisted on a plan to host in the summer.
Saudi Arabia announced its bid on October 4, 2023, gaining swift support from AFC President Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa the next day. By October 9, the country had submitted its official letter of intent and declaration to FIFA, with over 70 member associations already backing its bid.
Saudi Arabia’s successful bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup marks the third time the Asian Football Confederation will host the tournament, and the second time it will be held in the Middle East.
