“The signs have long been there, pointing us towards the inevitable. And tomorrow, unopposed, Saudi Arabia will get its big moment when it is named as host nation by FIFA, football’s global governing body, for the 2034 men’s World Cup. Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will share games at the 2030 tournament, a grand and global event to mark the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup being staged, but 2034 will be all Saudi’s. It is going to be the first 48-team World Cup played in a single country. The controversial selection process has drawn criticism. A bidding window truncated by FIFA, world football’s governing body, effectively left Saudi without a challenger and, just as with its neighbour Qatar in 2022, human-rights campaigners are already questioning the Gulf nation’s suitability to host football’s greatest spectacle. Those issues are explained in more detail here. None of those misgivings will be heard when FIFA’s congress gives Saudi Arabia 2034 the nod, though, as a coveted prize is handed over uncontested. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
Guardian – A vote without a vote: the Saudi World Cup is an act of violence and disdain
BBC: What will a Saudi 2034 World Cup look like? (Video)