Saudi Arabia on Wednesday was officially confirmed by FIFA as host of the 2034 World Cup in men’s soccer, giving the oil-rich kingdom its biggest prize yet for massive spending on global sports driven by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
The Saudi bid was the only candidate and was acclaimed by the applause of more than 200 FIFA member federations. They took part remotely in an online meeting hosted in Zurich by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
“The vote of the congress is loud and clear,” said Infantino, who had asked officials on a bank of screens to clap their hands at head level to show their support.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The decision was combined with approving the only candidate to host the FIFA 2030 World Cup. Spain, Portugal and Morocco are to co-host in a six-nation project, with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay each getting one of the 104 games.
The South American connection would mark the centenary of Uruguay hosting the first World Cup in 1930.
The decisions complete a mostly opaque 15-month bid process, which Infantino helped steer toward Saudi Arabia without a rival candidate, without taking questions, and which human rights groups warn would put the lives of migrant workers at risk.
“We look forward to hosting an exceptional and unprecedented edition of the FIFA World Cup by harnessing our strengths and capabilities to bring joy to football fans around the world,” Saudi Prince Mohammed said in a statement.
FIFA and Saudi officials have said hosting the 2034 tournament can accelerate change, including more freedoms and rights for women, with Infantino on Wednesday calling the World Cup a “unique catalyst for positive social change and unity.”
A fast-track path to victory was cleared last year by FIFA accepting the three-continent hosting plan for the 2030 World Cup.
It meant only soccer federations in Asia and Oceania were eligible for the 2034 contest, and FIFA gave countries less than four weeks to declare a bid. Only Saudi Arabia did.
The win would begin a decade of scrutiny on Saudi labor laws and treatment of workers mostly from South Asia needed to help build and upgrade 15 stadiums, plus hotels and transport networks ahead of the 104-game tournament.
One of the stadiums is planned to be 350m above the ground in Neom — a futuristic city that does not yet exist — and another named for the crown prince is designed to be atop a 200m cliff near Riyadh.
During the bid campaign, FIFA has accepted limited scrutiny of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, which was widely criticized this year at the UN.
The kingdom plans to spend tens of billion of dollars on projects related to the World Cup as part of the crown prince’s sweeping Vision 2030 project that aims to modernize Saudi society and economy.
At its core is spending on sports by the US$900 billion sovereign wealth operation, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which he oversees.
Critics have accused Saudi Arabia of “sportswashing” the kingdom’s reputation.
The prince, known as MBS, has built close working ties to Infantino since 2017 — aligning with the organizer of sport’s most-watched event rather than directly confronting the established system as it did with the disruptive LIV Golf project.
The result for Saudi Arabia and FIFA has been smooth progress toward the win on Wednesday with limited pushback from soccer officials, although some from women international players.
Lavish spending by PIF-owned Saudi clubs in the past two years buying and paying players — including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane — put hundreds of millions of dollars into European soccer.
That influence could be key in talks to agree on which months to play the 2034 World Cup.
The November to December slot taken by Qatar in 2022 to avoid extreme midsummer heat is complicated in 2034 by the holy month of Ramadan through mid-December and Riyadh hosting the multi-sport Asian Games.
However, January 2034 could be an option — and likely better for European clubs and leagues —after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it saw few issues in clashing with the Salt Lake Winter Games opening on Feb. 10, 2034.
The IOC also has a major commercial deal with Saudi Arabia, to host the new Esports Olympics.
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