Saudis get ’34 World Cup; 6 nations to host ’30

The 2034 World Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia and the 2030 World Cup will be held across Morocco, Portugal and Spain with three one-off matches held in three South American countries, FIFA confirmed in an extraordinary general congress on Wednesday.

The decision was announced by FIFA president Gianni Infantino following a virtual congress. The 2030 and 2034 World Cups each had only a single bid and both were confirmed by acclamation by the applause of more than 200 FIFA member federations.

“We are bringing football to more countries and the number of teams has not diluted the quality. It actually enhanced the opportunity,” Infantino said about the 2030 World Cup.

“The vote of the congress is loud and clear,” said Infantino, who had asked officials on a bank of screens to clap their hands at head level to show their support.

Saudi Arabia was the only bidder for the 2034 edition of tournament.

“This is a historic moment for Saudi Arabia and a dream come true for all our 32 million people who simply love the game,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, the president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said. “The Kingdom is on a remarkable journey of transformation under Vision 2030 and today is another huge step forward that reflects and celebrates our progress while looking ahead to an even brighter future.”

The 211 member federations were also presented with a sole voting option for the 2030 competition in which Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina — countries that had earlier promoted a rival co-hosting bid — will each host one match to start the tournament.

This will allow FIFA to stage the opening game in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, where the Centenario Stadium hosted the inaugural 1930 World Cup final a century earlier.

“What better way to celebrate the 100th anniversary in 2030 than to have the World Cup in six countries, in three continents, with 48 teams and 104 epic matches,” Infantino said about the 2030 World Cup. “The world will stand still and will celebrate the 100 years of the World Cup.

“Congratulations to all the bidders for putting up a great dossier, but I would like to put on record my big, big thank you to the six confederation presidents and to their teams.”

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.

FIFA announced that both bids would be uncontested in 2023, leaving little room for doubt.

“Football lives in our hearts so to host a FIFA World Cup is the ultimate honor and we have been working towards this for a very long time,” Saudi Arabian Football Federation president Yasser Al Misehal said. “We welcome the responsibility and opportunity to help grow the game globally for all and make a positive contribution on the world stage.”

“It’s amazing. The infrastructure, the stadiums, the conditions for the fans and everything. After what I see, I’m more convinced that 2034 will be the best World Cup ever,” Cristiano Ronaldo said in a recorded package posted on X.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has been part of Saudi Arabia’s lavish spending on soccer – stunning the sport when agreeing to sign for Al Nassr in 2022 for a record-breaking salary reportedly worth up to $200 million a year.

On Tuesday, the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) said it would vote against the awarding of hosting rights by acclamation and criticized FIFA’s bidding process, saying it was “flawed and inconsistent”.

Following the confirmation of Saudi Arabia as hosts of the 2034 World Cup, 21 organizations including Amnesty International, Saudi diaspora human rights organizations, migrant workers’ groups from Nepal and Kenya and international trade unions, published a joint statement condemning the move.

“FIFA’s reckless decision to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without ensuring adequate human rights protections are in place will put many lives at risk,” Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s head of labor rights and sport, said in the statement on Wednesday.

The country denies accusations of human rights abuses and said it protects its national security through its laws.

Saudi Arabia has never previously hosted a tournament of this magnitude and will have to construct eight stadiums that will be used for the event.

All host nations will get automatic entry to the newly expanded 48-team tournament.

FIFA is facing a battle against Europe’s major leagues, including the Premier League and LaLiga, over plans for a winter World Cup in Saudi Arabia with sources telling ESPN that “concrete agreement” would be needed from leagues and players for the fixture calendar to be hit by such disruption.

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.