Saudi Arabia will host 2034 World Cup as Australia ends bid

Australia will not bid for the 2034 men’s soccer World Cup, clearing the way for Saudi Arabia to host the tournament.

Football Australia’s hopes of following this year’s groundbreaking Women’s World Cup, co-hosted with New Zealand, appeared dead in the water as soon as the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) backed the Saudi bid.

There appeared a glimmer of hope when Indonesia’s football association flagged interest in a joint bid with Australia earlier this month, but that faded when they backed Saudi Arabia days later.

Australia will instead attempt to secure hosting rights for the 2029 Club World Cup and the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup, the latter a tournament Saudi Arabia has also bid on.

The last time Australia attempted to host a men’s World Cup, the $46 million bid to host the 2022 tournament received just one vote of support.

Only Asia or Oceania could bid for 2034 after FIFA accepted only one candidate for 2030: a six-country bid spread across three confederations: Europe, Africa, and South America.