Dubai, Dec 12: FIFA has officially announced Saudi Arabia as the host nation for the 2034 men’s football World Cup. Saudi Arabia will become the second nation from the Middle East to host the mega football event, 12 years after neighbours Qatar staged the 2022 edition, where Argentina lifted the prestigious trophy. Meanwhile, the football governing body also confirmed that Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host the 2030 edition with one-off matches in three South American countries.The decision was announced by FIFA President Gianni Infantino following a virtual extraordinary Congress. The 2030 and 2034 World Cups each had only a single bid and both were confirmed by acclamation.
South American nations Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will be hosting the celebratory games to mark the World Cup’s centenary during the 2030 edition as the tournament will be played across three continents.
The opening match of the 2030 edition will be played in Uruguay, which hosted the 1930 tournament, with the next two games to be staged in Argentina and Paraguay, respectively, before the rest of the tournament is played in the three main co-host countries.
It will be the first time when Portugal, Paraguay and Morocco will be hosting FIFA World Cup matches as Uruguay already hosted the inaugural edition in 1930. Meanwhile, Argentina and Spain have also staged the tournament in the past.
In 2023, FIFA said that the 2034 World Cup would be held in the Asia or Oceania region, with the Asian Football Confederation throwing its support behind the Saudi bid.
Australia and Indonesia had also been in talks over a joint bid, but dropped out.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s win will kick off a decade of scrutiny on labor laws and treatment of workers mostly from South Asia needed to help build and upgrade 15 stadiums, plus hotels and transport networks ahead of the 104-game tournament.
One of the stadiums is planned to be 350 meters (yards) above the ground in Neom ā a futuristic city that does not yet exist ā and another named for the crown prince is designed to be atop a 200-meter cliff near Riyadh.
FIFA announced that both bids would be uncontested in 2023, leaving little room for doubt.
On Tuesday, the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) said it would vote against the awarding of hosting rights by acclamation and criticised FIFA’s bidding process, saying it was “flawed and inconsistent”.