The 2034 World Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia

The FIFA Congress, held virtually on Wednesday, December 12, approved Saudi Arabia's hosting of the 2034 World Cup and the joint hosting by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco for the 2030 World Cup. Given that there were no competitors in either case, this decision seemed to be certain for a long time. FIFA has cited one of its fundamental principles regarding the rotation of hosting competitions among different continents for the 2034 World Cup. Accordingly, the 2026 World Cup will be held for the first time with 46 countries in North American countries, and in 2034, it will be Asia and Oceania's turn. However, the controversial point regarding Saudi Arabia's hosting acceptance is that FIFA set only one month last year for accepting candidates for the 2034 World Cup in Asia and Oceania, and two other potential candidates, Australia and Indonesia, quickly withdrew from the competition, leaving Saudi Arabia as the sole candidate. Thus, the World Cup, which was held in Qatar in 2022, will return to the Gulf countries in a short time. AFP reports that Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, has long sought to use sporting events to increase the country's influence and improve its image. Critics say the aim of this policy is to 'cleanse the negative image and divert global public opinion from Saudi Arabia's negative human rights record.' Saudi Arabia has hosted major and popular sporting events such as Formula One, heavyweight boxing championships, the LIV golf international competition, and the WTA tennis international competition in recent years, with part of their exorbitant costs covered by the country's national wealth fund. Granting the hosting of the World Cup to Saudi Arabia will be the crown jewel of this series of sporting events. Currently, Saudi Arabia only has two football stadiums with a minimum capacity of 40,000 spectators, but according to FIFA regulations, at least 14 large stadiums are necessary to host the World Cup with 46 countries. Beyond this logistical challenge, due to the intense summer heat, the World Cup in this country, like in Qatar, must be held in winter. Additionally, in 2034, Ramadan will coincide with December, further complicating the timing for holding the World Cup. Another important point is that Saudi Arabia's hosting, like Qatar's in 2022, will once again turn human rights standards into a hot topic. Human rights groups emphasize the high number of executions, allegations of torture, as well as severe restrictions on women's rights and the suppression of political and civil freedoms. The year 2030 marks the hundredth anniversary of the first World Cup held in Uruguay. On this occasion, despite the official hosts being the three countries of Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, FIFA has decided to hold three matches in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay during the 2030 World Cup. In this case, the matches will effectively take place across three different continents: Europe, Africa, and South America. More than a year ago, FIFA announced that the only candidate for hosting the 2030 World Cup was the joint proposal from Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. The UK and Ireland withdrew despite their initial interest, and it was previously reported that Japan and the two Koreas might jointly announce their candidacy. In 2019, South American countries jointly announced their candidacy, stating that returning the World Cup to this continent would be the best option to commemorate the centenary of the competition's inception in Uruguay. Early in 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, FIFA proposed the idea of jointly hosting the World Cup in Spain, Portugal, and Ukraine as a symbol of 'solidarity' with Ukraine, but as the war intensified, Ukraine's participation was sidelined, and Morocco joined the hosts instead. South American countries also withdrew from competing for the 2030 World Cup hosting in exchange for hosting only three matches in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The logistical problem with this planning is that six teams must compete in the winter in the Southern Hemisphere and then travel with their fans to Europe and North Africa. The final of the 2030 World Cup is scheduled to take place on July 21, but the venue has not yet been announced. Besides Santiago Bernabéu, the stadium of Real Madrid, and Camp Nou, the stadium of FC Barcelona, the stadium being constructed for Hassan II between Casablanca and Rabat in northern Morocco is also being considered. Portugal, which hosted the European Championship in 2004, hopes that the semifinal match will be held in the stadiums of Lisbon or Porto.