On Wednesday, FIFA will announce that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup and that Morocco, Spain, and Portugal’s South American-focused bid will win the 2030 tournament.
Both tournaments’ hosting rights will be voted on at a virtual FIFA Congress, however neither candidacy has a competitor. For 2034, FIFA only accepted applications from Asia or Oceania, as the first World Cup with 48 teams will be held in North America in 2026.
The body controversially offered bidders less than a month to file candidacies last year, and Australia and Indonesia immediately dropped out. Saudi Arabia was the only applicant, allowing the World Cup to return to the Gulf region so soon after Qatar hosted in 2022.
Saudi Arabia sponsors a Formula One Grand Prix, heavyweight boxing matches, the LIV rival golf circuit backed by Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund, and the WTA Finals tennis. It will be a crowning moment for Saudi Arabia to host the 2034 World Cup, even though it only has two 40,000-capacity stadiums instead of 14.
Beyond that logistical issue, northern hemisphere summer heat could push the tournament back to later in the year, as in Qatar in 2022. However, Ramadan in December complicates everything. Saudi winning the World Cup will again raise human rights concerns, as it did two years ago.
Bid unprecedented
Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay will play in the 2030 World Cup to commemorate the inaugural game in Uruguay a century earlier.
Three continental confederations are involved in this extraordinary bid. Over a year ago, FIFA declared that Morocco, Spain, and Portugal’s 2030 plan was the only challenger, eliminating all others.
British and Irish bids were abandoned when they agreed to host Euro 2028, while South Korea, China, Japan, and North Korea suggested bids. Four South American nations seek in 2019 to host the centennial World Cup on their continent.
After the Russian invasion, UEFA backed a “solidarity” effort to unite Spain and Portugal with war-torn Ukraine in late 2022.
Last year, Ukraine was quietly pulled from that candidacy as Morocco joined forces with the Iberian neighbors, and South America decided to step aside in exchange for hosting three games—one each for Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Moroccans plan mega-stadium
Once these “centenary celebrations” are over, the six teams and their followers will cross the Atlantic Ocean to play the balance of the tournament.
The final of this spectacular tournament will be played on July 21, although its location is unknown.
As host of the 1982 World Cup, Spain will be the centerpiece with 11 of the 20 approved stadiums. Morocco will become the second African nation to host the tournament following South Africa in 2010.
Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu and Barcelona’s Camp Nou, which is nearing completion of a major renovation, and Casablanca and Rabat’s planned Hassan II stadium, “the biggest stadium in the world” with a capacity of 115,000, are potential final venues.
Portugal, which hosted Euro 2004, aims to host a semi-final at its two stadiums in Lisbon and Porto.
