FIFA will announce the host countries for the 2030 and 2034 men’s World Cups on Wednesday. The announcement, which has been almost a formality by now due to the absence of competing bids, would award the championship to a unique three-continent, six-nation bid spearheaded by Morocco, Spain, and Portugal, while Saudi Arabia is likely the host for 2034.
The announcement is just a formality because FIFA announced as far back as October 2023 that there were no rival bids to contest these tournaments. Criticism of the entire process, however, pertains to the terms of bidding, environmental issues, and human rights abuse.
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The 2030 World Cup would be one century from the date of its inauguration in Uruguay in 1930. To mark this important date in football, FIFA has endorsed the format by which matches will take place across three continents and among six nations. Most of the contest will be staged in Morocco, Spain, and Portugal, while celebratory matches will be played in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay. The inaugural host, Uruguay, will have one of the matches opening the tournament along with Argentina and Paraguay. This follows a joint bid by Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay in 2022, which FIFA reshaped as these South American nations agreed to host only a few games.
Saudi Arabia is the only bidder for the 2034 World Cup and will enter the books as the second Middle Eastern country to host the tournament, following the controversial edition staged by Qatar in 2022. That competition had no rival for the Kingdom’s bid given that Australia and Indonesia withdrew from the contest.