Mashable: Saudi Arabia becomes the host after Australia drops out

The 2034 FIFA World Cup will be hosted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

After Australia backed out and declined its bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that Saudi Arabia has become the undisputed host.

According to Khaleej Times, Australia confirmed that it would not make a bid for the global showpiece on Tuesday’s deadline day, making Saudi Arabia the sole candidate to host the 2034 World Cup.

Australia’s unexpected backing out last minute made the desert kingdom emerge as the only bidder for the upcoming 2034 FIFA World Cup.

The football governing body invited bids from Asia and Oceania for the global tournament by October 31, 2023. However, Football Australia (FA) on Tuesday said that the country will shift its focus on bids for the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup as well as the 2029 Club World Cup. So, Australia’s decision to not go forward with the 2034 bid left Saudi Arabia as the only bidder.

Minutes after FIFA called for bids to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, Saudi Arabia announced it would participate in the same.

On Tuesday, October 31, 2023, FIFA President Gianni Infantino took to his official Instagram account and named Saudi Arabia as the host of soccer’s global event.

In the post, Gianni Infantino also confirmed that Canada, Mexico, and the United States are the co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia becomes the second Middle Eastern nation to host the global showpiece after its neighboring country Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Meanwhile, during the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, Saudi Arabia stunned the world as it won the Group C match against the champions Argentina at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail in Qatar.

Although Australia hosted a successful Women’s World Cup tournament this year, the country has never hosted a Men’s FIFA World Cup.