OFFICIAL: Saudi Arabia to stage 2034 FIFA World Cup, 2030 hosts confirmed

Tom Weber

• Updated: 11 Dec 2024 17:05 GMT
• 3 min read

Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, with the host countries for the 2030 edition also revealed on Wednesday.

Football governing body FIFA held its virtual congress on Wednesday afternoon to officially decide on the host countries for upcoming World Cups. After the controversial 2022 edition in Qatar, the next tournament, in 2026, will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Beyond that, the hosts were still to be officially confirmed, though it was already known which nations had been successful with their respective bids. On Wednesday, federations from across the globe ratified that Spain, Portugal and Morocco will host the 2030 edition, while the 2034 tournament will take place in Saudi Arabia.

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In addition to Spain, Portugal and Morocco, the 2030 iteration will also have three 'centenary hosts' in the shape of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to celebrate the competition's 100th anniversary, with the first-ever World Cup hosted and won by Uruguay in 1930.

Saudi Arabia lands 2034 World Cup

Saudi Arabia's successful bid to land the 2034 World Cup will come under heavy scrutiny just as the 2022 version in Qatar did. The Kingdom has a far from spotless human rights record and questions will also be asked over the competition's scheduling.

The Qatar World Cup infamously took place in the winter to avoid the scorching summer temperatures but it was a far from popular decision and thoroughly disrupted the footballing calendar, with domestic leagues required to take extended winter breaks.

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Perhaps anticipating the backlash, federations were required to ratify Saudi Arabia's inevitable victory by applause rather than by a traditional voting system.

Furthermore, both bids - the 2030 and 2034 ones - were bundled together, so a refusal to give 'acclamation' to Saudi Arabia would have also meant 'voting' against Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

FIFA, it appears, have rushed headlong into yet another PR debacle.

How many teams will be in the 2030 and 2034 World Cups?

Both editions, as well as the 2026 World Cup in North America, will boast a whopping 48 teams. The 2026 iteration will be the first after FIFA's controversial expansion from 32 teams to 48.

The 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia will be the first single-country tournament with 48 participants in what will prove a major logistical and infrastructural challenge for the Kingdom.