German FA officially endorse Saudi Arabian 2034 World Cup bid

The German Football Association (DFB) has announced that it will be voting in favour of the 2030 World Cup, due to be held between Spain, Portugal and Morocco, and the awarding of the 2034 tournament in Saudi Arabia.

Delegates at a virtual FIFA Congress next Wednesday will vote on the hosting bids by acclamation, with the option of either supporting or opposing both. There is no separate vote for the tournaments.

The DFB reached an agreement following an extraordinary committee meeting in Frankfurt on Friday morning, and is braced for criticism of its decision — in particular — to endorse the Saudi Arabian bid.

In a statement, which follows similar announcements made by the Swedish and Danish federations, DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said: “We did not make the decision lightly and carefully examined the application for the 2034 World Cup.

“There was an exchange with many interest groups and experts, including human rights organizations and fans, on the basis of which a well-founded decision was made.

“We take the criticism of the applicant country seriously and will continue to engage in dialogue. Our goal is to work together with FIFA to improve the situation in the coming years.”

The German national team faced a significant public backlash for its decision to attend the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

During Germany’s first-round games at the respective tournaments, the domestic television audience fell by roughly 50 per cent across those four years, amid protests from fans across the country and criticism in the media.

(David Balogh/Getty Images)