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Victor Petkov
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FIFA change rules to benefit Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid
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It is getting more and more likely that the Asian country will host the tournament in 11 years

The 2034 World Cup will most likely be hosted by Saudi Arabia, or so British media claim. There is no official decision yet, but more and more signs confirm this possibility. It seems that FIFA will loosen up the rules to grant the right to host this event specifically for this country.

So far, Saudi Arabia is the only one that has submitted its application in the procedure to organize the tournament in 2034. FIFA has already announced that the host country will be at least one of the Asian countries, possibly together with one from Oceania. The Daily Mail reports that FIFA has already reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia.

FIFA’s world governing body has changed the rules regarding stadium requirements in the bidding process at the last minute. The Guardian reports that countries bidding to host the World Cup must have completed at least 7 of the 14 required stadiums. On Thursday, FIFA released the documents, which make it clear that not 7, but 4 fully completed stadiums are required.

FIFA requirements suggest that these stadiums should hold at least 40,000 spectators, but for the most important matches, stadiums with a capacity of 60,000 or even 80,000 are needed. However, it turns out that Saudi Arabia do not have them yet. The country announced the construction of four such facilities for the 2027 Asian Cup, but so far two in Riyadh are being upgraded and one in Dammam is still under construction.

FIFA found a way to go around this rule too. The updated document suggests a new definition of existing stadiums as “currently existing or under construction” and “requiring renovation or reconstruction that preserves the essential structural elements”.