Saudi Arabia Officially Named Host of 2034 Soccer World Cup

alex ritman

Wed, Dec 11, 2024, 10:51 a.m.·2 min read

Saudi Arabia has been named host of the men’s 2034 World Cup tournament, soccer’s biggest event and the most watched global sporting competition.

The Kingdom was all but guaranteed hosting rights back in October when Australia — considered the only other potential challenger — pulled out, but has now been official crowned by soccer’s governing body FIFA.

More from Variety

FIFA also on Wednesday announced that Spain, Portugal and Morocco would be joint hosts of the 2030 tournament — also fully expected given they were the only remaining bid — but Saudi Arabia will undoubtedly spark the most headlines and controversy.

The country has spent billions investing in sport in the years since being opened up by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with soccer among the main achievements thanks to a number of newly-built stadiums and huge names such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema enticed to the Kingdom. Hosting the World Cup — and the billions of viewers around the world — would be the pinnacle of this sporting foray.

However, much like Qatar — which hosted the World Cup in 2022 — FIFA’s decision has already been attacked by human rights groups.

“FIFA’s fake evaluation process to award the 2034 World Cup without legally binding human rights commitments will come at an unimaginable human cost, including adverse intergenerational impacts on migrant workers and their families,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

Underlining Saudi Arabia’s significant push into entertainment, news of its World Cup hosting landed during the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, only onto its 4th edition but already the biggest film event in the Gulf thanks to country’s deep pockets. Among the stars brought over to attend this year were Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Yeoh, Eva Longoria, Emily Blunt, Brendan Fraser, Olivia Wilde, Jeremy Renner, Andrew Garfield and Benedict Cumberbatch.

On the second day of the Red Sea Film Festival on Dec. 6, jury head Spike Lee and fellow festival guests Vin Diesel and Michael Douglas were spotted in the crowd watching Ronaldo’s team Al-Nassr lose 2-1 to Jeddah’s Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League. Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s partner Georgina Rodríguez Hernández was among those at the Red Sea opening ceremony the night before.

Best of Variety