While Australia has previously decided to host the 2034 World Cup, and Saudi Arabia remains the only country to host the tournament, Infantino confirmed Saudi Arabia's sole hosting on his personal social media (SNS). "The World Cup will be held in Asia (Saudi) in 2034," Infantino said on Instagram, explaining the host country of the 2026, 2030 and 2034 tournaments and how they will be held.
"After constructive dialogue and extensive consultations, the FIFA Council, which includes all six continental federations, decided the host country," Infantino added.
The 2034 World Cup bid was expected to be a two-way race between Saudi Arabia and Australia and Indonesia, which announced their intention to co-host the World Cup. However, Indonesia declared its support for Saudi Arabia on the 18th of last month, and Australia also announced on the previous day that it would not host the tournament. The Australian Football Association said on its website the previous day, "After reviewing all issues, we decided not to host the 2034 tournament."
The 2026 World Cup will be held in North and Central America, and the 2030 tournament will be held in Africa and Europe (co-hosted by Morocco, Spain and Portugal). The 2030 competition will also be held in South America. According to the custom of regional arrangements, the candidates for the 2034 competition have narrowed down to Oceania and Asia.
FIFA's deadline for submitting a letter of intent to host the 2034 World Cup is the 30th of this month, but Saudi Arabia remained the only country with de facto intent to host the World Cup, making it a leisurely winner. FIFA is expected to officially announce Saudi Arabia as the host country of the 2034 tournament after the 30th of this month.
The Saudi competition is likely to be held between November and December, like the 2022 Qatar Games, to avoid the hot heat in the Middle East.