At a virtual Congress, FIFA also confirmed that Morocco, Spain and Portugal will be joint hosts of the 2030 World Cup, in which three games will also be played in South America.
The Saudi bid was waved through by acclamation during the meeting of FIFA’s 211 national member associations, with no rivals standing in its way.
“It is a proud day, a day of celebration, a day that we invite the entire world to Saudi Arabia,” said Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal al Saud, the Saudi Minister of Sports. “We intend to have an extraordinary version of the World Cup in our kingdom.”
However, there was immediate condemnation from rights groups who insisted that handing the organisation of the tournament to the country puts the lives of construction workers at risk and “marks a moment of great danger“.
FIFA had invoked its principle of rotating the World Cup between continents, which meant only bids from Asia or Oceania were welcome for 2034.
The unprecedented organisation of the 2030 tournament will involve three continental confederations in Europe, Africa and South America, while the next World Cup in 2026 – the first involving 48 teams – will take place across North America.
Controversially, the body gave potential bidders barely a month last year to submit candidacies, and Australiaand Indonesia quickly abandoned their interest. That left Saudi Arabia as the sole candidate, clearing the way for the World Cup to return to the Gulf region so soon after Qatar hosted in 2022.
The kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been using sport for some time to amass influence and improve its global image – critics, though, say he is effectively “sportswashing” by diverting attention from Saudi Arabia’s rights record.
Via-besoccer.com
