Messi with World Cup trophy Argentina's Lionel Messi holds up the World Cup trophy after the 2022 final in Qatar. Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP
Image: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP
FIFA is set to confirm on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup while a joint bid by Morocco, Spain and Portugal which also features matches in South America will be awarded the 2030 tournament.
The awarding of hosting rights for both tournaments will go to a vote during a FIFA Congress to be held virtually, but there is no doubt about the outcomes with neither bid having a rival.
As for 2034, FIFA invoked its principle of rotating its flagship tournament between continents, only welcoming bids from Asia or Oceania — the 2026 World Cup, the first involving 48 teams, will take place across North America.
Controversially, the body gave potential bidders barely a month last year to submit candidacies, and Australia and Indonesia quickly abandoned their interest.
That left Saudi Arabia as the sole candidate, clearing the way for the World Cup to return to the Gulf region so soon after Qatar hosted in 2022.
The kingdom's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been using sport for some time to amass influence and improve its global image -- critics though say he is effectively "sportswashing" by diverting attention from Saudi Arabia's rights record.
Saudi Arabia already hosts several high-profile events including a Formula One Grand Prix, heavyweight boxing contests, the LIV rival golf circuit funded by Saudi's sovereign wealth fund, and the WTA Finals tennis.
Being handed the 2034 World Cup will be a crowning moment, and Saudi will secure hosting rights despite currently only boasting two stadiums with a capacity of 40,000, when 14 are required.
Beyond that logistical challenge, the baking temperatures in the northern hemisphere summer could mean pushing the tournament back to later in the year, as happened in Qatar in 2022.
However, the fact that Ramadan will take place in December that year is an added complication.
Moreover, the awarding of the World Cup to Saudi will make the issue of human rights a major talking point again, just as two years ago.
Rights groups highlight mass executions in Saudi Arabia and allegations of torture, as well as restrictions on women under the conservative country's male guardianship system. Free expression is severely restricted too.
The 2030 tournament will mark a century since the first World Cup was held in Uruguay, and as a result the bid will also see the South American nation handed a game along with Argentina and Paraguay.
That makes it a completely unprecedented bid, involving three different continental confederations.
FIFA confirmed over a year ago that the joint proposal led by Morocco, Spain and Portugal was the sole contender for 2030, with all other potential candidacies having fallen by the wayside.
A joint British and Irish bid was abandoned when they decided to focus on hosting Euro 2028, while there were suggestions of a bid from South Korea, China, Japan and North Korea.
Four South American countries launched a joint bid in 2019, convinced that the centenary World Cup should entirely take place on the same continent where it all began.
In late 2022, UEFA promoted a bid uniting Spain and Portugal with war-torn Ukraine in a show of "solidarity" following the Russian invasion.
However, Ukraine was quietly dropped from that candidacy last year as Morocco joined forces with the Iberian neighbours, while South America agreed to step aside in exchange for being awarded the hosting of three games, one each for Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.
Following these "centenary celebrations" in the comparative chill of the southern hemisphere winter, the six teams involved — along with their fans — will have to cross the Atlantic Ocean to play the rest of the tournament.
This tentacular tournament will conclude with the final on July 21, and it remains to be seen where that game will be staged.
Spain, which hosted the 1982 World Cup, is set to be the centrepiece as it boasts 11 of the 20 proposed stadiums.
Morocco — which has tried and failed on five previous occasions to be awarded the staging of the tournament — will become the second African nation to host the competition after South Africa in 2010.
Potential venues for the final include the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid and Barcelona's Camp Nou, which is nearing the end of a substantial renovation project, as well as the planned Hassan II stadium between Casablanca and Rabat, which is set to become "the biggest stadium in the world" with a capacity of 115,000.
Portugal, which hosted Euro 2004, will offer two stadiums in Lisbon and one in Porto, and hopes to stage a semi-final.
AFP