KUALA LUMPUR – With Australia now officially out of the race to host the 2034 World Cup, Saudi Arabia looks to be the favourite to host the tournament, as only members of the Asian or Oceanian football federations are eligible.
With FIFA’s deadline for declarations of interest today, Football Australia issued a statement saying it had “explored the opportunity” of a bid but had decided against it.
“Having taken all factors into consideration, we have reached the conclusion not to do so for the 2034 competition,” the statement read.
“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.”
It said hosting the two events, in between the 2023 Women’s World Cup and 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, would complete a “truly golden decade for Australian football.”
Saudi Arabia announced its declaration of interest within hours of FIFA outlining the process for 2034, with the tournament being staged in the Asian or Oceanian confederation.
According to a report in the Guardian, a growing international bloc had thrown its weight behind a Saudi bid since FIFA announced the process for the 2034 tournament earlier this month.
Within hours of FIFA’s announcement, Saudi Arabia issued its declaration of interest, and the president of the Asian Football Confederation, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, expressed his support for the country’s bid soon after.
Since then, various federations have issued public statements of support, including Australia’s neighbour Indonesia. The AFC held its extraordinary congress where associations, including from Japan, Uzbekistan and India, backed the Saudi bid.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino addressed the same meeting and called for “unity” among members. “You have a responsibility in this respect, you play an important role in this unity of the world, so I count on you in this respect,” he said.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation has declared it now has support from over 100 of FIFA’s 211 member associations, which will vote to determine the host next year if a second bidder does emerge.
Japan Football Association executive, Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, stated during the AFC meeting that his country plans to host the World Cup by 2050. However, he believes that it is now time for Asia to unite and submit a single bid for the tournament.
Miyamoto also highlighted the previous success of Australia, which benefited from Asian solidarity. He mentioned that Japan withdrew from the bid for the Women’s World Cup in 2023 after discussions with relevant parties, in order to consolidate a bid from Asia. Consequently, Asia won the bid, resulting in the successful hosting of the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this year. – October 31, 2023