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Fifa had accelerated the bidding process for 2034, to the surprise of many of its members, this month. It effectively meant interested nations had to make major commitments immediately on bidding for a World Cup that is still 11 years away. Football Australia withdrew from the 2034 bidding process on Monday night, clearing the way for Saudi, where daytime temperatures in Jeddah in June and July reach the high 30 Celsius. Although no final decisions have been made, and the official vote is not until next year’s Fifa Congress, there is no barrier to the second Middle Eastern World Cup finals in four editions of the tournament. Britain's seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said he did not feel comfortable racing there and called on Saudi Arabia to improve its human rights record before the 2022 grand prix.

FIFA World Cup 2026 - BBC

Tennis will hold a professional event in Saudi Arabia for the first time in November after a five-year deal was agreed for Jeddah to host the Next Gen ATP Finals. Football's world governing body Fifa had said the 2034 World Cup would be held in Asia or Oceania, and an Australian bid was regarded as the only potential challenger to Saudi Arabia, which announced its intention to bid shortly after Fifa's decision. A second winter World Cup looms after the last obstacle to Saudi Arabia hosting the 2034 tournament was removed – putting Fifa at odds with European football’s most powerful national associations once more. Vintage Magazines| Football Books| Other collectable Football Books| Vintage Football Annuals| News of the World Football Annuals The perfect gift for the true football fan! Fifa said it 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.

James Johnson, chief executive of Football Australia, admitted that his nation simply could not compete with the Saudis, whose power extends to what he said was the “disruption” of the European club game with the salaries being paid in the Saudi Pro League. PIF has taken control of four of the nation's top clubs - Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr - in the Saudi Pro League, and Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar are among the high-profile players to have joined the league, which was formed in 1976. Saudi Arabia's international standing was severely damaged by the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a US-based Saudi journalist who was a prominent critic of the government. WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury attracted criticism for praising Saudi officials external-link and Bin Salman before his victory over former UFC fighter Francis Ngannou in Riyadh last weekend. Saudi Arabia has hosted several major sporting events since 2018, including football, Formula 1, golf and boxing, and will stage the Club World Cup in December.

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Lionel Messi won a record eighth Ballon d’Or award, surpassing Erling Haaland to top the 30-player list Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said bidding for the World Cup was "not going to be favourable to Australia". Qatar's hosting of the 2022 World Cup drew criticism because of its stance on same-sex relationships, its human rights record and its treatment of migrant workers.The Monday Night Club discuss whether Jude Bellingham is England's best talent since Paul Gascoigne, after he was named best young player at Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony. Morocco, Portugal and Spain are the only bidders for the 2030 edition, with games also played in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Qatar 2022 was switched to a winter World Cup finals in 2014, almost four years after it was awarded the hosting of the tournament. Saudi has a much richer football pedigree – the Saudi team beat eventual winners Argentina in the first game of the 2022 tournament – although most critically it would now appear to be a key ally of Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president. Last week 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." He said: "Saudi is a strong bid. They have a lot of resources, and not just [for] the 2034 World Cup.

2034 World Cup: Saudi Arabia set to host after Australia does

Human rights campaigners say sport is being used by the Saudi government to detract from long-standing reputation issues, a process known as 'sportswashing'. It said: "Human rights commitments must be agreed with potential hosts before final decisions on holding the tournaments are made. Australia's governing body Football Australia says it intends to focus its efforts on hosting the Women's Asian Cup in 2026 and the Club World Cup in 2029.

Like the 2022 men's tournament, the 2034 edition would almost certainly be held in winter because of extreme heat in the summer, although modernising existing infrastructure rather than building new stadiums would likely make it more environmentally friendly than Qatar. The launch of the lucrative LIV Golf series in 2022 led to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour agreeing to merge with PIF in June after a year of disruption, with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan appointed chair of the unified men's game. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) completed a takeover of Newcastle United in 2021, and manager Eddie Howe said: "Our trips out there to Riyadh and Jeddah were two very different experiences.