Saudi Arabia looks set to be the host of the 2034 World Cup after the only other country to have shown an interest in hosting — Australia — made a last-minute decision not to bid.
“We have reached the conclusion not to do so for the 2034 competition,” a statement from Football Australia said Tuesday, just hours before FIFA’s deadline for declarations of interest.
It puts Saudi Arabia on track to host the global soccer tournament a decade from now — a move that’s likely to be seen as highly controversial.
It would also make it only the second Arab Gulf country to ever host the World Cup, after Qatar did so in 2022.