2030 World Cup Set To Be Held In Six Different Countries Paving The Way For Saudi Arabia To Host The 2034 Edition

FIFA have confirmed that the 2030 World Cup will be held across six countries, spanning three continents and will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the original tournament.

Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will join main hosts Spain, Portugal and Morocco in welcoming the world to the biggest football tournament as each South American country will host their first matches for their retrospective national teams.

Uruguay was chosen as the original winners, Argentina as the original runner-up and Paraguay as the home of the South American Confederation.

The six nations will all qualify automatically, potentially causing issues in qualifying, for example, only seven teams will compete in the South American qualification.

It means that in 2030, Europe, Africa and South America will play host and fans are extremely unhappy with the decision, however, the worst is set to come.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino said: “In a divided world, FIFA and football are uniting.

“In 2030, we will have a unique global footprint, three continents welcoming and uniting the world while celebrating together the beautiful game, the centenary and the FIFA World Cup.”

Representing fans in Europe, Football Supporters Europe has hit out at the planned event, saying it is destroying the legacy of the World Cup, disrupting fans and the environment due to the thousands of miles in travelling and making way for Saudi Arabia to host in 2034.

What About 2034?

FIFA also has said that it will only welcome bids from Oceania and Asia for the 2034 World Cup and Saudi Arabia have already signalled their intentions to bid.

The president of the Saudi Football Federation, Yasser al-Misehal said: “We believe the time is right for Saudi Arabia to host the FIFA World Cup. Our bid is driven by a love for the game and a desire to see it grow in every corner of the world.”

This has been met with intense anger and frustration from fans as a nation with human rights concerns could look to host the World Cup soon after Qatar. Many believe that football just follows money rather than passion.

By also having a second World Cup in the Middle East, there is a very high chance that it would have to be a winter tournament once again due to the extreme heat.

Also in consideration of hosting the 2034 tournament is Australia’s joint effort with Indonesia and possibly a bid by China, who originally hoped to host the 2030 tournament when the Chinese Super League started attracting Europe’s stars.

Analysis

For many people across the globe, the idea of a Saudi World Cup will be devastating, but we have seen this before.

Qatar always wanted to host the prestigious event but needed a way of becoming more involved in the sport so PSG were bought by Qatari owners and they then went onto bid for the World Cup.

In a controversial twist, they won the bidding contest, and the nation, plagued by human rights concerns, anti-LGBT laws and alleged deaths in constructing their stadiums, eventually played the World Cup last year.

Saudi Arabia have done the exact same.

After Saudi owners bought Newcastle United and the top four Saudi teams, their Saudi Pro League started spending big and the biggest names of the planet joined the country to insert themselves into the game.

This week in the Champions League, PSG visited Newcastle, a battle between the two Middle Eastern nations.

They are now bidding for the World Cup 11 years away and are also plagued by the same issues Qatar was in a case of deja vu.

Many fans were unhappy with Qatar hosting the World Cup and what is to say fans won’t feel the same now?

To top it off, Saudi Arabia are trying to invest in all sports as a form of “sportswashing”, something Saudi’s Crown Prince has openly commented on.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said: “If sportswashing is going to increase my GDP by 1%, then we’ll continue doing sportswashing. I don’t care [about the term]. I have 1% growth in GDP from sport and I am aiming for another 1.5%.”

The credibility of FIFA is already at a low point thanks to the likes of Qatar, Sepp Blatter and the handling of the Russian teams’ inclusion back into European competition, but for many, the question is “how much more?”

Only time will tell what happens with the World Cup, but at this very moment, the World Cup will be heading to Saudi Arabia in 11 years’ time.

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