Dec 12 (BBC) – The 2034 men’s football World Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia, while Spain, Portugal and Morocco will be joint hosts for the 2030 tournament, world governing body Fifa has confirmed.
Three matches in the 2030 tournament will also be held in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to mark 100 years of the competition.
The hosts for both World Cups were confirmed at Wednesday’s Extraordinary Fifa Congress meeting following a vote.
All 211 of Fifa’s member nations were represented at the meeting over a video link.
The hosts for both tournaments, and of the 2030 centenary celebrations, were confirmed via two separate votes.
The first selected Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina as the centenary hosts.
The second confirmed the three hosts for 2030, as well as Saudi Arabia being awarded the 2034 tournament.
Nations gave their votes by ‘acclamation’ – clapping in front of their cameras via their video links.
In all three decisions just one voting option was available, and prior to the acclamation Fifa’s secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said “all 211 [member associations] have effectively cast their vote prior to the congress”.
The English Football Association showed its support for the bids – which were also backed by the Scottish and Welsh FAs – after saying it received assurances that all fans would be safe and welcome at a Saudi World Cup.
England’s FA said in a statement: “After a careful review of both proposals, we supported the two World Cup bids – from Spain/Portugal/Morocco in 2030, and Saudi Arabia in 2034. Both bids are technically strong and meet the Fifa criteria to host the men’s World Cup.
“Our focus is on ensuring that all our fans can attend and enjoy tournaments.”
Norway opted to abstain because of “concerns regarding the current Fifa World Cup bidding process”, not because Saudi Arabia were named hosts.
Switzerland’s football association also asked for its observations to be included in the congress minutes.
On Tuesday, the Swiss FA had said it would approve the Saudi bid for the 2034 World Cup, but demanded human rights must be monitored by both Fifa and the international labour organisation.
The Danish Football Union (DBU) said it supported the overall package of the two World Cup bids but wants Fifa to oversee human rights improvements.
Jesper Moller, DBU chairman, said: “We would have liked to see more bids for both the 2030 and 2034 World Cups, and we are critical of the overall process.”
Saudi Arabia has been accused of ‘sportswashing’ in recent years – using its unprecedented spending on sport to improve the oil-producing kingdom’s reputation over its human rights record and environmental impact.
Of the 15 stadiums identified to hold matches at the 2034 World Cup, four have been built so far.
