Saudi Arabia is set to become the second Gulf country to host the World Cup, following Qatar's successful staging of the tournament in 2022. — AFP file
Fifa is expected to announce the hosts for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups on Wednesday, with a joint bid by Morocco, Spain, and Portugal likely to secure the former, while Saudi Arabia is poised to take the latter. The decision will be made during a virtual Fifa Congress, but with no competing bids, the outcomes are already clear. The 2030 edition will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup held in Uruguay, and as part of the bid, Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay will each host a game. This unique bid spans three different continental confederations, marking a historic first for the tournament. Fifa confirmed over a year ago that the Morocco-Spain-Portugal joint bid was the only contender for 2030, as other potential bids fell through. A British and Irish bid was withdrawn to focus on Euro 2028, while South Korea, China, Japan, and North Korea considered a joint bid but ultimately did not proceed. Four South American countries launched a bid in 2019, believing the centenary event should take place entirely on the continent where it began. In late 2022, Uefa proposed a bid uniting Spain and Portugal with Ukraine, but Ukraine was later removed, and Morocco joined the Iberian nations. In exchange, South America agreed to host three games, one each in Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina.
After the centenary celebrations in the southern hemisphere, the six teams and their fans will travel across the Atlantic to participate in the remaining 101 matches, culminating in the final on July 21. The final venue is yet to be determined, but Spain, which hosted the 1982 World Cup, is expected to play a central role with 11 of the 20 proposed stadiums. Morocco, which has unsuccessfully bid for the tournament five times before, will become the second African nation to host it after South Africa in 2010. Potential final venues include Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu, Barcelona's renovated Camp Nou, and the planned Hassan II stadium between Casablanca and Rabat, which aims to be the world's largest with a capacity of 115,000. Portugal, host of Euro 2004, will offer three stadiums and hopes to stage a semifinal.
For 2034, Fifa applied its continental rotation principle, limiting bids to Asia or Oceania. The 2026 World Cup, the first with 48 teams, will be held in North America. Fifa controversially gave potential bidders only a month to submit their candidacies, leading Australia and Indonesia to withdraw. This left Saudi Arabia as the sole candidate, ensuring the World Cup returns to the Gulf region after Qatar in 2022. Hosting the 2034 World Cup will be a significant achievement for Saudi Arabia, which has been expanding its sports portfolio with high-profile events like golf, tennis, and Formula One. The country has also attracted football superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to play in its top league.
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