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Saudi Arabia will almost certainly host the 2034 men’s World Cup after the Australian Football Association refused to participate in the competition.
FIFA had set a deadline of Tuesday to submit a bid to host the tournament, but Australia’s decision to withdraw leaves Saudi Arabia as the declared candidate.
“We have explored the option of submitting a bid to host the FIFA World Cup and, after all factors, have concluded not to do so for the 2034 competition,” Football Australia said in a statement.
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FIFA has yet to approve Saudi Arabia as host — a resolution that will most likely be taken next year — but victory now appears to be a formality for the oil-rich kingdom. It would be the culmination of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious attempt to become a major player. in world sport, having already spent lavish sums to lure dozens of soccer stars into its domestic league, buy the English soccer club Newcastle, launch the breakaway LIV Golf excursion and host primary boxing matches.
The sports spending program approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been described as sportswashing aimed at singing a national symbol related to his record on women’s rights and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has forged close ties with Saudi football and personally with the crown prince, and has long been known for steering the world soccer body’s competitions to the kingdom.
By awarding the 2030 World Cup to a joint bid by Spain, Portugal and Morocco – which will also include matches in South America – FIFA has to accelerate the race to host the 2034 venue earlier this month, with only member federations from Asia and Oceania eligible. The tight deadline gave them less than four weeks to enter the race until Tuesday and just one more month to sign a bidding agreement that requires government support.
Hours after FIFA’s announcement, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation announced its participation and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) — which is Australia — said it supported the kingdom in bringing the World Cup back to the Middle East after neighboring Qatar hosted the 2022 edition.
Qatar hosted it in November and December, at the center of the European club soccer season, in the face of the excessive heat of the summer months and a Saudi tournament will likely also be moved from the classic June to July period.
The Indonesian football federation first expressed interest in a joint bid with Australia, potentially along with Malaysia and Singapore, but that interest faded when Indonesia subsidized Saudi Arabia.
Instead, Australia will seek the rights to host the 2029 Club World Cup, which will be relaunched with a new format in 2025, with 32 teams participating in the tournament every four years, and the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup.
“We believe we are in a strong position to host the world’s oldest women’s foreign competition, the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026, and then welcome the biggest groups in world football for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup,” the FA said.
Australia and New Zealand were effective co-sponsors of the Women’s World Cup in July and August. Brisbane, Queensland, will be the third Australian city to host the Olympics at the 2032 Summer Games.
Saudi Arabia will also host the men’s Asian Cup in 2027 and has introduced an extensive structural program to build and renovate stadiums that will most likely also be used for the World Cup. FIFA’s bidding documents state that 14 stadiums are needed for the 48-team tournament. .
After the World Cup in Qatar was marred for years by allegations of violations of the rights of migrant staff needed to build its stadiums, Saudi Arabia’s hosting arrangements will be subject to the same scrutiny.
“With an estimated 13. 4 million migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, insufficient labour and thermal protections, the absence of industrial unions, the absence of independent human rights monitors and the absence of press freedom, there are any and all reasons to worry about the lives of those who would build stadiums, public transport, hotels and other lodging services in Saudi Arabia,” Minky Worden, director of global projects at Human Rights Watch, said in a recent statement.
“The option that FIFA can simply award Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup despite its appalling human rights record and closed doors to any oversight exposes FIFA’s human rights commitments as a travesty,” Worden said.
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