FIFA President Confirms 2034 World Cup Matches In Saudi Arabia (image-instagram/fifaworlcup)
Gianni Infantino, President of the international football federation (FIFA) announced on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia will host matches of the FIFA World Cup 2034 through a social media post. Taking into the social media he wrote, “the next two editions of the FIFA World Cup are set to be hosted in Africa (Morocco) and Europe (Portugal and Spain) – with three celebratory matches played in South America (Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) in 2030 and in Asia (Saudi Arabia) in 2034”.
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This decision came after Australia confirmed its decision to not to bid to host the World Cup and thus Saudi became the only nation to bid. FIFA had declared Tuesday to be the last day to submit the bid.
The Football Australia said in their statement that they have explored the opportunity to bid to host the FIFA World Cup but after considering all the factors, they have reached into the conclusion to not to do so for the 2034 competition.
For Saudi Arabia, this will be a major step in culminating to become a major sports player globally. They have already seen spending a large amount in bringing dozens of football stars to their domestic league. By buying the English club Newcastle and launching LIV Golf tour and by hosting major boxing fights they upgraded their level.
Last month, when FIFA announced that the hosts of 2030 World Cup, FIFA decided to have the 2034 hosting race earlier this month with only the members of the federations in Asia and Oceania eligible to bid. With the tight schedule, giving the countries less than four weeks to enter into the race, within hours of the announcement, Saudi Arabia Football Federation announced its plan to bid. While the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said it was backing the Kingdom to bring back the game to the Middle East after Qatar hosting 2022 World Cup.
Saudi Arabia”s Sports Minister Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal said in a statement, “Hosting a FIFA World Cup in 2034 would help us achieve our dream of becoming a leading nation in world sport and would mark a significant milestone in the country’s transformation”.
He also added that as an emerging and welcoming home for all sports, they believe that hosting a FIFA World Cup is a natural step in their football journey, reports Al Jazeera.
Today, we enter the next chapter of Saudi football: intending to bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup™ 🏆
Our bid is inspired by Saudi Arabia’s transformation journey, the passion of our fans, and a commitment to deliver an amazing tournament.#Saudi2034
Learn more ➡… pic.twitter.com/zmpNt86Ksl— الاتحاد السعودي لكرة القدم (@saudiFF) October 4, 2023
