Saudi Arabia confirmed as host nation of 2034 FIFA World Cup after unopposed bid

The Middle East country put forward the only bid to host the tournament 10 years from now and FIFA confirmed its award at an extraordinary congress on Wednesday. However, the bid was decided in an unusual manner, with FIFA members told to vote either for or against both a multi-nation host for the 2030 World Cup and Saudi Arabia being given the next competition. There was no way to vote on the hosts separately.

Both bids went unopposed, with Portugal, Spain and Morocco being awarded the 2030 World Cup - with early games to be played in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to mark the 100th anniversary of the tournament. For the second time in history, the World Cup will go to the Middle East in 2034 as Saudi Arabia gets the honour.

The Football Association (FA) voted in favour of the multi-nation host and Saudi Arabia, BBC Sport reports, as did the German FA (DFB), while their Norwegian counterparts opted to abstain from voting.

Qatar was the first Middle Eastern nation to host the World Cup back in 2022, with Argentina famously triumphing. Before the tournament returns to that part of the planet, though, the competition will go ahead in North America in 2026 and then Europe, Africa and South America in 2030.