The FIFA Congress has approved the bids of Middle Eastern countries for 2034, with Morocco, Spain and Portugal co-hosting the 2030 tournament.
The international football federation, FIFA, has officially named Saudi Arabia as the host country for the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
An extraordinary FIFA meeting held on Wednesday also confirmed Morocco, Spain and Portugal as co-hosts of the 2030 World Cup.
The decision was announced by FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The 2030 and 2034 World Cups only had one bid each, and both were approved by rave reviews.
“We are delivering football to more countries, but the number of teams does not dilute the quality. It has actually expanded our chances,” Infantino said of the 2030 World Cup. .
Under a joint proposal by Morocco, Spain and Portugal, the 2030 Games will be held in six countries on three continents, with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay hosting celebratory matches to mark the 100th anniversary of the Games.
Uruguay hosted the first World Cup in 1930, with Argentina and Spain also hosting tournaments. Portugal, Paraguay and Morocco will all be hosting countries for the first time.
Saudi Arabia will become the second country in the Middle East to host the event, after Qatar in 2022.
The 2034 Games will mark the first time ever that a 48-team tournament will be held in a single host country.
The matches will be held at 15 stadiums in five host cities in Saudi Arabia: Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar, Abha and Neom.
Riyadh’s King Salman Stadium can accommodate 92,000 spectators and, once constructed, will be the venue for the opening and final matches.
Saudi Arabia’s bid was approved by applause at a meeting of FIFA’s 211 national member associations, with no rivals standing in its way.
“Today is a proud day, a day of celebration and a day to invite the whole world to Saudi Arabia,” said Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, Saudi Minister of Sports.
“We are going to host a special version of the World Cup in the Kingdom.”
