FIFA poised to award 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia: Tournament to take place in Middle East for second time

Shortly after midnight on Saturday morning, FIFA announced it had completed its report into Saudi Arabia's human rights record and its approval has all-but-confirmed Saudi Arabia as hosts of the 2034 World Cup. The report, conducted by FIFA General Secretary Mattias Grafstrom, has awarded the country with rating of 4.2 out of 5 and means any potential hurdles to the only candidate bidding for the tournament will be avoided ahead of their official crowning as hosts at the FIFA Congress on 11 December. The rating, FIFA said, was not based on Saudi Arabia's "general human rights context”, but rather on how it would "address human rights records connected with a tournament" - these measures included the labour rights of migrant workers, rights of children, gender rights, disability rights and press freedom. The report will be welcomed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino who advocated for a World Cup in Saudi Arabia and wishes to still see the great Lionel Messi playing then.

FIFA also conducted reports on all of the joint hosts bidding for the 2030 tournament. The plans for the centennial World Cup include Morocco, Portugal and Spain hosting the tournament with games played in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to mark the 100th anniversary of the tournament. The three host nations also received an average rating of 4.2, with the South American nations averaging 3.6 - still enough to approve the games. The reports wave through, and almost certainly confirm, the hosts for the 2030 and 2034 tournaments.

Should Saudi Arabia host the tournament in 2034, they will be the second Middle Eastern nation to host the tournament after Qatar in 2022. Held in December, Lionel Messi's Argentina saw off a Kylian Mbappe-inspired France team to win the tournament for just the second time and crown Messi at the pinacle of football. While Qatar beat the United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia to host the tournament, Saudi Arabia will face no rival candidates at the FIFA Congress in December.

The World Cup will next be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026. The 2030 centennial tournament will be held in Morocco, Portugal and Spain with games also played in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Then, following the approval of their human rights record, Saudi Arabia will be handed the 2034 World Cup in December and preparations for the tournament will officially begin.