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The 2034 World Cup will be hosted in Saudi Arabia. The Congress of the world association FIFA awarded the 2030 final tournament to Spain, Morocco and Portugal, as well as one opening game each to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The award was made online in a vote for both final rounds by acclamation, and the German Football Association also voted in favor. There were no opposing candidates in each case.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino spoke during his opening speech of an “incredible message of unity” sent to a world where it feels like there is no unity anymore. “We want to make history now, we want to unite the world with football, through football,” said the Swiss.
Clear criticism of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly criticized by human rights organizations in recent months. Human Rights Watch recently wrote of “blatant human rights violations” in the kingdom. FIFA, on the other hand, had only certified the applicant as having a “medium” risk in human rights issues. Saudi Arabia promises far-reaching reforms in its application documents.
It is completely unclear when the game will take place in 2034. Comparable to the conditions in neighboring Qatar, host of the World Cup at the end of 2022, there is great heat in Saudi Arabia during the traditional World Cup months in June and July. The move to late autumn would cause major problems for the game dates of the leagues and international club competitions. The Olympic Games will be held at the beginning of the year, in February 2034.
Six hosts at the 2030 World Cup
The return to the Gulf region just twelve years after the Qatar World Cup was made possible because FIFA President Gianni Infantino pushed through the awarding of the 2030 final tournament to countries on three continents. The game is being played in South America to mark the 100th anniversary of the World Championships. Spain and Portugal will become the first hosts from the European Football Union’s UEFA territory since Russia 2018. “The world will stand still and celebrate these 100 years (of the World Cups),” Infantino said.
Since the upcoming 2026 World Cup will take place in the USA, Mexico and Canada, according to FIFA regulations, only one host from the Asian confederation was considered for the 2034 tournament. Australia was the only potential opponent of Saudi Arabia to not take part – also because of the short application deadlines. So the way was clear for the kingdom.
After the scandal-ridden double award in 2010 to Russia for the 2018 World Cup and Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, FIFA originally announced that it would forego such a procedure.
The statement from the DFB
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf announced last week that he would vote in favor of the double award despite criticism of Saudi Arabia. “We are all aware of the civil rights situation and also the reprisals in Saudi Arabia. This is not something we condone in any way,” said Neuendorf. However, a rejection or even a boycott would not achieve what one wanted to achieve. “I think we can only exert influence if we say: Yes, we agree, but we know there are deficits,” said Neuendorf.
