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The decision is a significant milestone for Saudi Arabia, which will become the second Middle Eastern nation to host the prestigious tournament, following Qatar’s successful 2022 World Cup.
The 2034 World Cup will be historic, as it will feature 48 teams for the first time, all competing within Saudi Arabia’s borders.
Matches will take place across five cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar, Abha, and Neom, with 15 stadiums planned for the competition. The King Salman Stadium in Riyadh, with a capacity of 92,000 spectators, is expected to host both the opening match and the final.
Alongside the announcement of the 2034 host, FIFA also confirmed that Morocco, Spain, and Portugal will co-host the 2030 World Cup, with Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay staging the first three matches to mark the centenary of the tournament.
This arrangement comes after an initially contested bidding process, in which South America’s bid was integrated into the plan for the 2030 event.
The 2034 bid was uncontested, as Saudi Arabia emerged as the only nation to put forward a proposal.
The country’s bid was ratified after a process that combined the decisions for both 2030 and 2034 tournaments into a single vote. Delegates at FIFA’s online congress either supported or opposed both bids, with the English, Scottish, and Welsh Football Associations among those endorsing Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid.
Saudi Arabia’s bid for 2034 was particularly notable for receiving the highest-ever evaluation score from FIFA’s bid team.
The 2034 World Cup will be the first time the expanded 48-team tournament will be held in a single country, following the joint hosting of the 2026 World Cup by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Both the 2030 and 2034 bids were confirmed under a new FIFA rotation system, which restricts hosting rights to countries in Asia or Oceania for the 2034 edition. Saudi Arabia’s proposal came after Australia, which had considered submitting a bid, announced on October 31 that it would not stand as a rival.
