FIFA has officially announced the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 World Cups. The hosts for both World Cups were officially announced during Wednesday’s Extraordinary FIFA Congress after a formal vote.
FIFA announced Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2034 World Cup, highlighting the Gulf nation’s increasing prominence in global sports despite ongoing criticism of its human rights record. Saudi Arabia’s unopposed bid was approved unanimously by FIFA’s 211 member associations. Simultaneously, during a virtual Congress, football’s governing body confirmed Morocco, Spain, and Portugal as the joint hosts for the 2030 World Cup, with three matches set to take place in South America (Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina).
Uruguay hosted the inaugural World Cup in 1930, while Argentina and Spain have previously welcomed the tournament. In contrast, Portugal, Paraguay, and Morocco will serve as World Cup hosts for the first time.
“It is a proud day, a day of celebration, a day that we invite the entire world to Saudi Arabia,” said Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal al Saud, the Saudi Minister of Sports. “We intend to have an extraordinary version of the World Cup in our kingdom.”
Introducing the hosts for the next two editions of the @FIFAWorldCup! 🏆
Morocco, Portugal and Spain will host in 2030, with centenary celebration matches in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Four years later, Saudi Arabia will host the FIFA World Cup 2034™. pic.twitter.com/WdOEdNEVxH
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) December 11, 2024
Rights groups swiftly condemned FIFA’s decision, arguing that awarding the tournament to Saudi Arabia endangers construction workers’ lives and represents a significant risk. FIFA justified its choice by citing its policy of rotating World Cup hosts across continents, limiting bids for 2034 to Asia and Oceania.
Critics also pointed to FIFA’s rushed timeline, giving potential bidders only a month to submit proposals last year. This led to Australia and Indonesia withdrawing their interest, leaving Saudi Arabia unopposed and ensuring a swift return of the tournament to the Gulf region following Qatar’s 2022 edition.
Saudi Arabia intends to invest tens of billions of dollars in World Cup-related initiatives as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious Vision 2030 plan to modernize the nation’s society and economy. Central to this vision is the Public Investment Fund, a $900 billion sovereign wealth entity under his leadership, which has made substantial investments in the sports sector.
According to sources cited by ESPN, FIFA did not consulted major leagues or players’ unions about the proposal to hold the 2034 World Cup during the northern hemisphere winter, despite the need for their consent to move the tournament away from its traditional June-July period. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar caused considerable disruptions to European leagues, which had to extend their seasons and pause league play for a month to adjust to the winter schedule.
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Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
