Saudi Arabia is set to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup on grounds of being the only approved bid after Australia withdrew from the bidding process. FIFA's deadline for declarations of interest passed yesterday, with the Middle East nation being the only applicant. A statement from the football governing body read: “The FIFA administration will conduct thorough bidding and evaluation processes for the 2030 and 2034 editions of the World Cup, with the hosts to be appointed by FIFA Congresses expected to take place by Q4 2024. The FIFA administration will conduct a targeted dialogue with bidders, to ensure complete, comprehensive bids are received and evaluated against the minimum hosting requirements as also previously approved by the FIFA Council. This dialogue will focus on the defined priority areas of the event vision and key metrics, infrastructure, services, commercial, and sustainability, and human rights. Following this, FIFA will publish its evaluation reports and, should those requirements be met, the member associations gathered at the FIFA Congress will appoint the hosts of the respective competitions.”

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FIFA had earlier announced that Morocco, Portugal, and Spain would co-host the 2030 World Cup, and Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay will each be allowed to host one game including the opening game of the tournament as part of World Cup's centenary celebrations. The 2034 edition was confirmed to take place in Asia or Oceania, with Australia's proposal as the only challenger to Saudi Arabia. Football Australia, however, confirmed yesterday that had stepped away from the bidding process saying: “Having taken all factors into consideration, we have reached the conclusion not to bid for the 2034 competition. Football Australia is ambitious to bring more major tournaments to our shores. We believe we are in a strong position to host the Women's Asian Cup in 2026 and then welcome the greatest teams in world football for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup.” 
 

The CEO of the Federation James Johnson added: "Saudi is a strong bid. They've got a lot of resources. They're disrupting European club football at the moment. Their government is prioritizing investment in football and I think that's difficult to compete with." The minister of sports for Saudi Arabia in a statement via the Saudi Press Agency said: "Hosting a World Cup in 2034 would help us achieve our dream of becoming a leading nation in world sport and would mark a significant milestone in the country's transformation. As an emerging and welcoming home for all sports, we believe that hosting a World Cup is a natural next step in our football journey." 

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(Image: FIFA)