Saudi Arabia has been confirmed as the host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup. Additionally, the 2030 World Cup has been confirmed to be hosted by six nations: Morocco, Portugal, and Spain. Three one-off matches will be played in Southern American countries, meaning the 2030 World Cup will be hosted by a total of six nations. FIFA confirmed these details in a press conference on Wednesday, where both World Cup bids went unchallenged and were confirmed by acclamation.
The decision to award Saudi Arabia the 2034 tournament comes after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has spent a large amount of money on global sports — notably football. The Saudi Arabian Pro League has exploded in popularity in recent years, largely thanks to this investment. These initiatives enabled the signings of major stars to their domestic league, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and Karim Benzema, among many others.
Now, they have secured the ultimate prize: the World Cup in 2034. Australia, which was rumored to be the second bid, ultimately decided not to proceed with their submittal, meaning the Saudi Arabia bid went unopposed. The kingdom has promised to deliver a “world-class tournament”.
Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal al Saud, the Saudi Minister of Sports said:
“It is a proud day, a day of celebration, a day that we invite the entire world to Saudi Arabia. We intend to have an extraordinary version of the World Cup in our kingdom.”
For the 2030 World Cup, it will be the first time the iconic tournament will be held across multiple continents. The first one-off matches will be played in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay — where they will host the first, second, and third games respectively. It is the first time since 1930 that the city of Montevideo will host a World Cup match, which was the inaugural World Cup tournament won by the host nation. Asuncion and Buenos Aires — the respective capitals of Paraguay and Argentina — will host the other two matches. Six cities in Morocco, two in Portugal, and nine in Spain will also host World Cup matches.
“We are bringing football to more countries and the number of teams has not diluted the quality. It actually enhanced the opportunity,” said Infantino on the 2030 World Cup.
