Saudi Arabia is set to stage the World Cup in 2034 after being confirmed as the sole bidder.
Australia was the only potential challenger but Football Australia announced hours before FIFA’s deadline on Tuesday that it would not be submitting a bid.
FIFA had already said the tournament would be held in Asia or Oceania, while Saudi Arabia had garnered immediate support from the Asian Football Confederation.
A Saudi World Cup, which may not be confirmed until a FIFA Congress late next year, is likely to be highly controversial given concerns over the country’s human rights record.
It would almost certainly mean another winter edition, as with last year’s tournament in Qatar, due to the extreme heat during the region’s summer.
A FIFA statement said: “The FIFA administration will conduct a targeted dialogue with bidders to ensure complete, comprehensive bids are received and evaluated against the minimum hosting requirements as also previously approved by the FIFA Council.
“This dialogue will focus on the defined priority areas of the event vision and key metrics, infrastructure, services, commercial, and sustainability and human rights.”
A statement from Football Australia said it had “explored the opportunity” of a bid but had decided against it.
“Having taken all factors into consideration, we have reached the conclusion not to do so for the 2034 competition,” the statement said.
“Football Australia is ambitious to bring more major tournaments to our shores. We believe we are in a strong position to host the Women’s Asian Cup in 2026 and then welcome the greatest teams in world football for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup.”
It said hosting those events, in between the 2023 Women’s World Cup and 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, would complete a “truly golden decade for Australian football”.
CEO James Johnson added: “The reality is I don’t like to throw darts at a dartboard. When we weigh up these decisions, I like to bet on sure things. I realised we could have a shot but I think at the end the outcome was not going to be favourable to Australia.
“Saudi is a strong bid. They’ve got a lot of resources. They’re disrupting European club football at the moment. Their government are prioritising investment in football and I think that’s difficult to compete with.”
Saudi Arabia announced its declaration of interest within hours of FIFA outlining the process for hosting the 2034 tournament earlier this month.
With the 2026 finals heading to the United States, Canada and Mexico and the 2030 finals to Spain, Portugal and Morocco, including some matches in South America – subject to approval by FIFA’s congress – only bids from the Asian Football Confederation and the Oceania Football Confederation were being considered.
Saudi Arabia confirmed on October 4 that it would bid for the showpiece tournament in 2034.
Saudi minister of sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said in a statement via the Saudi Press Agency: “Hosting a FIFA World Cup in 2034 would help us achieve our dream of becoming a leading nation in world sport and would mark a significant milestone in the country’s transformation.
“As an emerging and welcoming home for all sports, we believe that hosting a FIFA World Cup is a natural next step in our football journey.”
Last week Human Rights Watch complained that FIFA was failing to apply its own rules in regards to Saudi Arabia’s bid, specifically article seven of its human rights policy.
The article states: “FIFA will constructively engage with relevant authorities and other stakeholders and make every effort to uphold its international human rights responsibilities.”
Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, said: “The possibility that FIFA could award Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup despite its appalling human rights record and closed door to any monitoring exposes FIFA’s commitments to human rights as a sham.”
On Tuesday, Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s head of economic and social justice, urged FIFA not to rush into a decision, saying: “With only a single bid for each tournament on the table, FIFA may have scored an own goal.
“FIFA must now make clear how it expects hosts to comply with its human rights policies. It must also be prepared to halt the bidding process if serious human rights risks are not credibly addressed.
“The best chance for FIFA to obtain binding guarantees to protect workers’ rights, ensure freedom of expression and prevent discrimination linked to the World Cup is during the host selection process – not after the hosts have been confirmed and tournament preparation has begun.”
Confronting accusations of “sportswashing” in an interview with Fox News last month, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said: “If sportswashing is going to increase my GDP by way of one per cent, then I will continue doing sportwashing.
“I don’t care. One per cent growth of GDP from sport and I’m aiming for another one-and-a-half per cent. Call it whatever you want, we’re going to get that one-and-a-half per cent.”
Eddie Howe, manager of Saudi-backed Newcastle, was asked about the prospect of a Saudi Arabian World Cup at a press conference on Tuesday.
“Our trips out there to Riyadh and Jeddah were two different experiences,” Howe said. “Wherever we went was really well organised and we were well looked after. If that’s a sign of what a World Cup there might look like then you can rest assured that everything will be structurally really good.”
Vancouver Whitecaps v Austin FC: Sartini hails 'special' White ahead of enticing BC Place meeting
Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini labelled Brian White as a "special" player ahead of Sunday's enticing MLS meeting with Austin FC at BC Place.
The Whitecaps are third in the Western Conference after a 1-1 draw with New York Red Bulls last time out, completing a fine April that saw them lose just one of four matches.
Whitecaps forward White scored in that draw and may get somewhat of a hero's welcome at a packed-out BC Place after becoming Vancouver's all-time leading scorer.
"I'm really happy he could make history here at home in front of his family, in front of his friends," Sartini said of White, who moved past Camilo Sanvezzo as the club's all-time leading scorer.
"It adds a special, special flair to that, so I'm really happy for him.
"He's a player so committed that it doesn't matter if he misses a goal, or he scores the first goal, or if he misses the first touch because he's going to adjust."
Sartini even suggested his coaching has improved White, albeit in a playful manner.
"I think he scored 99% of the goals with me as a coach, so I can even tell that maybe that it's [to] my credit," he joked. "Because I put him in the right position."
Austin are just two points but four places behind Vancouver in the West after winning four of their last five outings, having swept aside LA Galaxy 2-0 in their last match.
Verde and Black head coach Josh Wolff is not getting overly excited with that form, though.
"It's 10 games into the season so we don't get carried away," Wolff said. "When you guys [the media] are slaughtering us earlier this year, I don't get too bummed out.
"You guys do what you do. You got to pump out headlines and you got to get readers, I understand it. Whether I agree with that or not, that's what you guys choose to do."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Vancouver Whitecaps – Brian White
With a goal against the Red Bulls on Saturday, White has contributed to at least one goal in six straight matches, the longest streak by a Whitecaps player in the club’s MLS history.
The 28-year-old has found the net – or assisted – in every game since failing to do so against San Jose Earthquakes on March 10, with the Whitecaps reaping the rewards from their star forward.
Austin FC – Brad Stuver
Austin have kept clean sheets in two straight matches for only the second time in club history, also doing so in June-July 2023.
Austin kept just one clean sheet in the 25 matches in all competitions between the two streaks and their upturn in form should be somewhat credited to goalkeeper Brad Stuver, who continues to impress.
MATCH PREDICTION – VANCOUVER WHITECAPS WIN
The Whitecaps are the heavy favourites for this one, having won four of their six meetings with Austin FC (D1 L1), including recording victories in all three meetings between the sides at BC Place.
Vancouver have also equalled their best nine-match start in club history with 17 points, yet the Whitecaps have never reached the 20-point mark within their first 10 games of an MLS season.
It will be far from a routine victory, though, as Austin have won four of their last five matches (L1) following a 2-0 win over the Galaxy, including the last two in a row.
Austin have had only one winning streak longer than two games in all competitions in club history, a four-match run in June-July 2022 – but that could come to an end here.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Vancouver Whitecaps win – 46.7%
Austin FC win – 27.2%
Draw – 26.1%
Real Salt Lake v Sporting Kansas City: Mastroeni lauds team effort of Western Conference leaders
Real Salt Lake head coach Pablo Mastroeni credited the collective effort of his league-leading side as they prepare to host Sporting Kansas City at America First Field for Sunday's MLS clash.
Salt Lake sit atop of the Western Conference table after a six-game undefeated streak, having overcome Philadelphia Union 2-1 in their last outing.
Alexandros Katranis provided a remarkable 89th-minute winner in that victory over the Union, with RSL not losing an MLS game since March 9 against Colorado Rapids.
"I think it is everything so far, every aspect of the team has been competitive – sometimes the offense clicks, sometimes it is the defense," Mastroeni said.
"For me, it is really the collective; from the staff, to the players, to me and the work we do every day. Scoring the first goal has been really important for us in most of the games.
"Defensively we have been a really good team, it starts at the top, though. We're getting a lot of great contributions from all around the pitch.
"When you tie that all together, we've got a great group firing on all cylinders."
Peter Vermes' Wizards were defeated 2-1 by Minnesota United in their last match, leaving them 10th in the West with just 11 points to their name after 10 games.
Kansas City head coach Vermes knows another difficult task awaits on the road this weekend.
"They are the best team in the West at the moment," Vermes said of RSL.
"They are always a tough defensive team. With the strike power they have up front, we will have to be focused and concentrated, it will be a tough match for us."
Vermes' high praise of Salt Lake comes as no surprise given Mastroeni's men have only conceded nine times this season – a joint-low in MLS.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Salt Lake – Cristian Arango
Cristian Arango has 16 goal contributions through 10 matches this season, equalling the most in a player’s first 10 appearances of a season in MLS history (Carlos Vela in 2019, Cobi Jones in 1998).
With eight goals in just 10 appearances so far this term, the Real Salt Lake star has already surpassed his six strikes in 2023 – and will hope to further his tally here.
Sporting Kansas City – Johnny Russell
Johnny Russell has scored six goals in 13 career MLS matches against Real Salt Lake (also considering playoffs), including scoring at least once against RSL in each of the last five seasons.
The Scottish winger is yet to score in league competition this year, though, failing to find the net in any of his seven appearances – though Russell has only played 90 minutes twice in that run.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
It will be hard to split these two sides with a draw appearing probable, despite the Opta supercomputer suggesting Real Salt Lake have the likelier chance of victory.
Sporting have never recorded back-to-back victories when visiting Salt Lake in all competitions, though they did win the last meeting between these two sides 3-2 in October.
SKC may have also lost their last outing but they have not suffered consecutive defeats across all competitions since April 2023, avoiding defeat in the match following each of its previous 14 losses (W10 D4).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Real Salt Lake win – 45.5%
Sporting Kansas City win – 26.8%
Draw – 27.7%
Hoffenheim 1-1 RB Leipzig: Kramaric denies visitors after Simons red card
Andrej Kramaric scored a last-minute equaliser to deny RB Leipzig victory in Friday's 1-1 Bundesliga draw at Hoffenheim, in a game which saw Xavi Simons sent off.
Simons was shown his second yellow card with 18 minutes to play, with fourth-placed Leipzig 1-0 up courtesy of Benjamin Sesko's first-half header.
Marco Rose's team looked set to leapfrog Stuttgart into third ahead of Saturday's fixtures, but Kramaric – who had earlier been denied by a huge double save from Peter Gulasci – salvaged a point for the hosts with stoppage time mere seconds away.
While Leipzig missed the chance to move eight points clear of fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund, both teams will be playing Champions League football next season after Germany clinched a top-two place in UEFA's coefficient rankings this week.
Data Debrief: Flying full-back creates again
David Raum assisted Sesko's opener with a pinpoint cross, the eighth goal he has teed up in the Bundesliga this season. Seven of those have been headers, a joint-high tally among all players, alongside Borussia Monchengladbach's Franck Honorat.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
