Football 2034 in Saudi Arabia
Fifa boss Infantino announces the World Cup award via Instagram
Status: 31.10.2023 | Reading time: 2 minutes
Gianni Infantino (M.) probably couldn’t wait and announced Saudi Arabia as the venue for the 2034 World Cup
Quelle: Handout via REUTERS
Next year, FIFA’s member associations will choose the venue for the 2034 World Cup. Saudi Arabia is the only applicant after the withdrawal. Fifa boss Gianni Infantino creates facts via Instagram months before the election.
It was a disdainful announcement from the other side of the world that practically finally cleared the way for Saudi Arabia. The Australian association announced on Tuesday that it would not apply for the 2034 World Cup. Shortly afterwards, FIFA also confirmed that only Saudi Arabia had submitted a declaration of interest and was therefore the only candidate remaining in the award in a year, which seems to have long been decided by Gianni Infantino’s backroom politics.
The final decision will not be made until next year. In 2024, the FIFA Congress, the assembly of all 211 member associations of the world association, will vote on where the World Cup will be held. A simple majority is enough. The member associations are then allowed to vote; each association has one vote, regardless of size. There may be resistance – including from the German Football Association – during the election. As a sporting power, Saudi Arabia has already gained a number of supporters behind it. Also Infantino.
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But months before the congress, Infantino revealed that the World Cup would be held in Saudi Arabia. The FIFA President announced this on his Instagram account: “The next two editions of the FIFA World Cup will be held in Africa (Morocco) and Europe (Portugal and Spain) – with three festivals in South America (Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) – in 2030 and in Asia (Saudi Arabia) in 2034. Three editions, five continents and ten countries involved in hosting the tournament – this is how football becomes truly global!”
Australia withdraws its application
Australia was Saudi Arabia’s last competitor and said goodbye to the World Cup race. “We have examined the possibility of bidding to host the FIFA World Cup and, after considering all factors, have come to the conclusion that we will not do so for the 2034 competition,” the Australian Football Association (FA) said in a statement.
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Saudi Arabia is even more controversial because of its human rights situation than the host of the 2022 finals, its small neighbor Qatar. The FIFA President wasn’t bothered at all by Qatar, on the contrary. “It will simply be the best World Cup in history, the greatest show in the world,” said the Swiss resident of the emirate a year ago. Twelve months later, the discussions about human rights, the “One Love” captain’s armband, sustainability and much more – have been ticked off.
