The Saudi Arabia 2034 bid is a bid by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup in Saudi Arabia.
After Saudi Arabia abandoned its 2030 bid alongside Greece and Egypt, the oil-rich monarchy switched its focus to a solo 2034 bid. Similar strategies to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which was held in November–December as opposed to the usual summer scheduling, may be used to mitigate the country's summer heat, though the Saudi FA have insisted on a plan to host in the summer. The country's bid was announced on 4 October 2023. On 5 October, AFC President Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa backed Saudi Arabia's bid. On the 9th, Saudi Arabia announced that it had submitted the official letter of intent, and signed the declaration to FIFA to bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, and that over 70 different member associations had already pledged their support for its bid. It was ratified by the FIFA Congress on 11 December 2024.
Background Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced his intent to bid within minutes of FIFA announcing the bidding timeline, which was followed by the backing of Asian football leaders within the next hours. After Australia's decision to not bid for the 2034 World Cup, Saudi Arabia became the sole bidder to host the tournament.
Saudi Arabia will be the first country to host the World Cup alone in its 64-team format since it was expanded from 32 teams starting with the 2026 FIFA World Cup (which was co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico)., and from 48 with the 2030 FIFA World Cup.https://onefootball.com/es/noticias/alejandro-dominguez-says-2030-world-cup-will-feature-64-teams-43167102
On 30 November 2024, FIFA released its evaluation report of Saudi Arabia's bid. According to the report, Saudi Arabia was awarded an average score of 4.2 out 5, the highest in history.
Bid process
Major sports events hosting experiences 1986 AFC Youth Championship 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship 1992 AFC U-16 Championship 1992 King Fahd Cup 1995 King Fahd Cup 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup 2023 FIFA Club World Cup 2024 FIFA Series (2/6 groups) in Jeddah 2026 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Riyadh 2027 AFC Asian Cup 2034 Asian Games in Riyadh
Proposed venues
The official list of the proposed stadiums was confirmed on 31 July 2024. The tournament is planned to be held in five cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Al Khobar, NEOM and Abha, with a total of 15 stadiums (11 of which will be new). The King Salman International Stadium in Riyadh could host the opening game and final.
+ List of cities and stadiums proposed for the tournament City Stadium Capacity Riyadh King Salman International Stadium 92,760(new) King Fahad Sports City Stadium 70,200(after renovation)47,060(new) Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium 46,979(new) Prince Faisal bin Fahad Sports City Stadium 46,865(after renovation) King Saud University Stadium 46,319(after renovation) New Murabba Stadium 46,010(new) ROSHN Stadium 46,000(new)JeddahKing Abdullah Sports City Stadium62,345(after renovation)Qiddiya Coast Stadium46,096(new)Jeddah Central Development Stadium45,794(new)King Abdullah Economic City Stadium45,700(new)Al KhobarAramco Stadium46,096(new)NeomNEOM Stadium46,010(new)AbhaKing Khalid University Stadium45,428(after renovation)
Support
Football confederations Asian Football Confederation
References
External links