Global football governing body FIFA on Wednesday confirmed that the 2034 World Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia.
This means the World Cup will return to the GCC region after Qatar held a successful World Cup in 2022.
Meanwhile, Morocco, Spain and Portugal will jointly host the 2030 tournament.
The decision was announced by FIFA president Gianni Infantino following a virtual extraordinary Congress. The 2030 and 2034 World Cups each had only a single bid and both were confirmed by acclamation.
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.
“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.
2034 FIFA World Cup
According to the bid document for the 2034 FIFA World Cup, the tournament will be held in 15 stadiums across five cities — Riyadh, Jeddah, Abha, Al Khobar and NEOM — with the opening and the final match played at King Salman International Stadium in Riyadh.
“The Kingdom’s bid to host the tournament is integrated in its wide-reaching Vision 2030 project to transform the nation and its society as a whole. Accordingly, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, the government and all stakeholders have committed to ensuring that the tournament would deliver lasting benefits in terms of football, infrastructure and society,” the document said.
The stadiums
Of the 15 stadiums, eight are planned new-builds, including the King Salman International Stadium. Another three stadiums are currently under construction and will host the AFC Asian Cup in 2027. The bid includes stadium projects integrated into unique locations, including the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium, located within the Qiddiya development, and NEOM Stadium, located within THE LINE development. Moreover, there are stadiums such as New Murabba Stadium and ROSHN Stadium, whose extended roof structures and footprints blend into the surrounding neighbourhoods.
Accommodation
Saudi Arabia bid has proposed a comprehensive set of accommodation options, comprising 72 team base camp hotels, two referee base camp hotels and 60 venue-specific hotels. All hotels are paired with a training site. In total, the bid therefore contains 134 team and referee facility pairings.
