Saudi Arabia launches bid for 2034 FIFA World Cup hosting rights
Saudi Arabia has officially thrown its hat into the ring to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, launched a bid campaign under the slogan ‘Growing. Together.’
Under the leadership of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), the bid has been supported with great fanfare, revealing a logo and dedicated website to showcase the nation’s readiness and enthusiasm to host the event.
If successful, Saudi Arabia will make history as the first single-host nation of a 48-team FIFA World Cup.
The decision to vie for the 2034 World Cup hosting rights comes at a time when Saudi Arabia stands as the sole contender, after Australia opted against submitting a bid. Despite being the only bidder in contention, FIFA regulations necessitate Saudi Arabia formally presenting its bid for consideration.
Last October, the Gulf state submitted a letter of intent to FIFA, expressing its keen interest in hosting the tournament, setting the stage for the formal bid process. In December, Saudi Arabia’s sports minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, staunchly defended the country’s right to host the World Cup, dismissing criticisms of ‘sportswashing’ as unfounded.
The launch of the bid campaign follows closely after Saudi Arabia’s successful staging of the FIFA Club World Cup in December, which saw an impressive turnout of over a quarter of a million fans from around the world flocking to Jeddah.
“Telling our football story to the world is of massive importance,” SAFF president Yasser Al Misehal commented.
“And we believe ‘Growing. Together.’ is the perfect, yet simple description of our approach to hopefully hosting the tournament in 10 years’ time.
“Bidding to host a FIFA World Cup is only made possible by the rapid transformation the country is enjoying. We’ve made unprecedented progress in both the men’s and women’s game and our bid is an open invitation to the world to join us on this exciting journey.
“As we proved when we welcomed over 100 nationalities to the FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023 in Jeddah, the future is bright when we grow together.”
The host of the 2034 World Cup will be confirmed later this year. The 2026 tournament will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, while the 2030 edition is set to be shared between Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
