Zurich (The Thursday Times) — Saudi Arabia has won the right to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, while the 2030 World Cup will be played across 3 continents and 6 countries.
FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), football's global governing body, has announced the host countries for the 2030 World Cup and the 2034 World Cup. The announcement has not only highlighted the growing global influence of the sport but also stirred controversy over the process by which the hosts were selected. According to FIFA's announcement, the 2030 World Cup will be played across three continents and 6 countries, while the 2034 World Cup will be hosted by Saudi Arabia alone. Saudi Arabia has been given the opportunity to host a global football event for the first time.
Hosting of the 2030 FIFA World Cup
The 2030 FIFA World Cup is being held to commemorate 100 years of 'football', the world's most popular sport. Through its unique multi-continental hosting, this historic event will present a blend of tradition and innovation. Morocco, Spain and Portugal will be the main hosts of the global event, where most of the matches will be played. Given the geographical and cultural proximity between these countries, the format also highlights football's heritage.
To pay tribute to football, the opening three matches will be held in South America, hosted by Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. These special arrangements acknowledge South America's football heritage in relation to the global event, while the involvement of major football centres such as Europe and Africa is intended to underline their importance. Critics, however, have voiced concern about the environmental impact of such extensive travel, which could create difficulties for teams, officials and fans.
Saudi Arabia: hosting the 2034 World Cup
After FIFA's sudden announcement of the bidding process in October, Saudi Arabia emerged as the sole candidate to host the 2034 World Cup. Although Australia expressed interest, the hastily set timeframe made it impossible for it to prepare a strong bid, which cleared the way for Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia's bid received the highest score on record in FIFA's evaluation, which reflects the strength of the country's sports infrastructure and its steadily growing global importance.
FIFA's geographical and political balance
FIFA's approach to hosting the World Cup reflects a balance between football's growing global popularity and political realities. The 2030 World Cup includes the region of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), alongside the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and as a result the regions of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) were declared eligible to host the 2034 World Cup. In this way FIFA seeks to give all regions equal opportunities. For Saudi Arabia, hosting the 2034 global event highlights the country's soft power strategy.
