Football Australia rules out 2034 FIFA World Cup bid in boost for Saudi Arabia hopes

October 31, 2023

Football Australia has issued a statement advising that it has decided against bidding for the hosting rights for the 2034 FIFA World Cup, opening the way for Saudi Arabia to host the tournament.

Releasing a statement on Tuesday hours before FIFA’s deadline for declarations of interest in hosting the tournament, Football Australia advised “we have explored the opportunity to bid to host the Fifa World Cup and - having taken all factors into consideration - we have reached the conclusion not to do so for the 2034 competition.”

Football Australia instead reiterated its interest in hosting the Women’s Asian Cup in 2026 and the 2029 Club World Cup.

Explaining this the statement added “for international tournament hosting, the Australian time zones provide significant opportunities for broadcasters, and we are within touching distance of billions of people in Asia and Oceania, which also helps to provide a strong commercial outlook for competitions.”

With FIFA having announced the process for the 2034 tournament earlier this month, advising that it will be hosted by a country in the Asian Confederation, of which Australia is a part, Saudi Arabia had emerged as the clear frontrunner.

Within hours of Fifa’s announcement, Saudi Arabia issued its declaration of interest, and the President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 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 Japan, Uzbekistan and India backed the Saudi bid.

Given the momentum of Saudi Arabia's plan, Football Australia's decision puts the Kingdom in a strong position to seal hosting rights to the 2034 event, ending a whirlwind process which began on 5th October when FIFA confirmed the 2030 edition of the tournament would be held across Europe, Africa and South America.

Football Australia's decision not to contend with Saudi Arabia for hosting rights comes with a signal of intent to secure hosting rights for the Women’s Asian Cup in 2026, and the Club World Cup in 2029.

Its statement added "following a successfully hosted and record-breaking FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia New Zealand 2023, which welcomed nearly two million people to matches across Australia and New Zealand, Football Australia is ambitious to bring more major tournaments to our shores.

“We have explored the opportunity to bid to host the FIFA World Cup and - having taken all factors into consideration - we have reached the conclusion not to do so for the 2034 competition.

“Instead, we believe we are in a strong position to host the oldest women’s international competition in the world, the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026, and then welcome the greatest teams in world football for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup. Achieving this - following the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 and with the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games - would represent a truly golden decade for Australian football.

“This would be underpinned by the opportunity for our men’s and women’s teams to compete at major tournaments including FIFA World Cup 2026 and 2030, FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 and 2031, AFC Asian Cup 2023, 2027 and 2031, and the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 and 2030, the Paris 2024 and LA 2028 Olympic Games, as well as at the biennial FIFA U-20 World Cup and FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup competitions.

The deadline for expressions of interest to host the tournament is 5pm Central European Time on Tuesday 31st October.

Image: The Sydney Opera House lights up for the Matildas.

search ausleisure

AusLeisure

Latest News