There were high speculations initially, and now the news has been made official, Asian country Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 FIFA World Cup. World football’s governing body FIFA took to their official social media handles to announce the decision of choosing Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2034 edition of football’s biggest competition. In the same post, it has also been confirmed that the 2030 edition will be hosted by Morocco, Spain, and Portugal; with Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay hosting the celebratory games.
On Wednesday, December 11, 2024, FIFA hosted a special congress in Zurich, Switzerland; where FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 editions of the FIFA World Cup.
2034 FIFA World Cup
The 2034 FIFA World Cup will be the 25th edition of the prestigious tournament. Scheduled to be hosted in Saudi Arabia only, this would be the first-ever football World Cup comprising 48 national teams held in a single nation. Saudi Arabia will be the second country from the Middle East to host the World Cup, the first being Qatar in 2022.
As per reports, Saudi Arabia have planned to host all the 104 games to be played in the competition in 15 of their stadiums. Interestingly, eight of those 15 grounds haven’t been held yet. These stadiums are/ will be across the Saudi Arabian cities: Jeddah, Abha, Al Khobar, Neom and Riyadh.
The opening and the grand finale of the prestigious competition are expected to be held in Riyadh’s King Salman Riyadh’s King Salman Stadium, with a 92,000 capacity (once built).
Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal al Saud, the Saudi Minister of Sports shared his views on the news (as per AlJazeera), “It is a proud day, a day of celebration, a day that we invite the entire world to Saudi Arabia.” He also added, “We intend to have an extraordinary version of the World Cup in our kingdom.”
According to news and sources like the Guardian, Alcohol is to be banned from all the stadiums throughout the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia. Even if someone is found possessing or seen consuming alcohol will be punished by a fine or might even face expulsion from the country for fans and non-residents. This law has been in place since 1952. It is unknown how fans gonna react to this news as we all have seen fans cheering and enjoying the game alongside alcohol inside the stadium.
2030 FIFA World Cup
Prior to the FIFA World Cup 2034, in Saudi Arabia, the 2030 edition is scheduled to be hosted in Morocco, Spain, and Portugal; with Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay hosting the celebratory games, as it marks 100 years of football World Cup. This will make this World Cup more special as it ranges over six countries, and three continents, making it the first time. The World Cup has never been hosted in more than one continent in a single edition.
Before the 2030 & 2034 FIFA World Cup, the 2026 edition is set to happen, for which the clock is ticking. This FIFA WC will be played across three North American countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America.