Fifa announced on Tuesday that it had received only one application for the 2034 World Cup, the host country of which will be designated by the end of 2024.
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After the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, the one in Saudi Arabia in 2034? The Middle Eastern monarchy is the only country candidate to organize the competition, announced the International Football Federation (Fifa) on Tuesday October 31. It could be the scene of the second World Cup contested in the Arab world, after the one which took place last winter, won by Argentina against France and which had sparked numerous controversies. Fifa will announce its decision on the organization of the main sporting event on the planet by the fourth quarter of 2024.
Saudi Arabia would continue its expansion in the world of football, after establishing itself as one of the main players in the transfer market in recent months. Thanks to a massive influx of capital, the local championship was able to welcome numerous football stars such as the French Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté or the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo.
The organization of the World Cup would further contribute to making sport a tool of its policy of international influence, a pillar of its development plan called “Vision 2030”. Formula 1 Grand Prix, boxing fights, Dakar or even the Asian Winter Games in the middle of the desert… The country has invested on a large scale in recent years to host major sporting competitions.
Four-country bid withdraws
The designation of Saudi Arabia as host country will take place if the Saudi candidacy meets FIFA’s organizational requirements, an assessment which will take place during the second half of 2024. Discussions of a joint file of Indonesia with Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, confirmed at the beginning of October by the boss of Indonesian football, Erick Thorir, ultimately did not come to fruition.
Saudi Arabia, alone, could take over in a 2030 edition which should be contested on three continents (Europe with Spain and Portugal, Africa with Morocco, and South America with a match played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay) after a 2026 opus which will take place in three countries: the United States, Canada and Mexico.