Saudi Arabia set to host 2034 World Cup as only approved bid

Saudi Arabia are set to host the 2034 World Cup after Australia withdrew from the bidding process.

FIFA's deadline for declarations of interest passed today, with the Middle East nation the only applicant.

A statement from the governing body read: "The FIFA administration will conduct thorough bidding and evaluation processes for the 2030 and 2034 editions of the World Cup, with the hosts to be appointed by FIFA Congresses expected to take place by Q4 2024.

"The FIFA administration will conduct a targeted dialogue with bidders, to ensure complete, comprehensive bids are received and evaluated against the minimum hosting requirements as also previously approved by the FIFA Council.

"This dialogue will focus on the defined priority areas of the event vision and key metrics, infrastructure, services, commercial, and sustainability and human rights.

"Following this, FIFA will publish its evaluation reports and, should those requirements be met, the member associations gathered at the FIFA Congress will appoint the hosts of the respective competitions."

FIFA had previously announced that Morocco, Portugal and Spain would co-host the 2030 World Cup with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay handed the opportunity to host a match as part of the tournament's centenary celebrations.

The 2034 edition was confirmed to take place in Asia or Oceania, with Australia's proposal the only challenger to Saudi Arabia.

Football Australia confirmed they had stepped away from the bidding process earlier today, saying: "Having taken all factors into consideration, we have reached the conclusion not to [bid] for the 2034 competition.

"Football Australia is ambitious to bring more major tournaments to our shores. 

"We believe we are in a strong position to host the Women's Asian Cup in 2026 and then welcome the greatest teams in world football for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup."

Their CEO James Johnson added: "Saudi is a strong bid. They've got a lot of resources. They're disrupting European club football at the moment.

"Their government are prioritising investment in football and I think that's difficult to compete with."

Saudi minister of sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said in a statement via the Saudi Press Agency: "Hosting a World Cup in 2034 would help us achieve our dream of becoming a leading nation in world sport and would mark a significant milestone in the country's transformation.

"As an emerging and welcoming home for all sports, we believe that hosting a World Cup is a natural next step in our football journey."