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- The most recent instalment of the World Cup saw it shifted into a winter slot
- Saudi Arabia now looks set to host in 2034, causing another calendar reshuffle
- **Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’ **
Australia’s decision not to bid for the 2034 World Cup, leaving Saudi Arabia as the only other bidder, means Premier League clubs are facing the prospect of another winter tournament to work around.
While the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada is returning to its more traditional summer slot, fast forwarding to 2034 and a second Winter World Cup is on the horizon.
The Premier League was forced into hitting pause on its season for the most recent World Cup, which took place in Qatar back in November.
With temperatures in Saudi Arabia regularly hitting as high as 43 degrees celsius in summer, a winter slot is the only humane option for a World Cup.
Should Saudi Arabia be ratified as hosts - and that appears a foregone conclusion at this stage with no rival bid - it would undoubtedly be met with controversy, despite them expanding their sporting portfolio in recent years with Formula 1, boxing and tthe recruitment of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and others to the Saudi Pro League.
The most recent World Cup, won by Argentina, was moved to a winter spot by hosts Qatar
Now Saudi Arabia look set to host in 2034, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino (middle) seen in Riyadh last week for the launch of Saudi Arabia’s Esports World Cup (seated next to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman)
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FIFA president Gianni Infantino, said: ‘The bidding processes were approved by consensus via the FIFA Council - where all six confederations are represented - after constructive dialogue and extensive consultation. Thank you to everyone who has participated in this positive exchange.
‘Football unites the world like no other sport, and the FIFA world is the perfect showcase for a message of unity and inclusion, as well as providing an important illustration of how different cultures can be together and can learn and better understand one another.
‘As we live in an increasingly divided and aggressive world, we show once again that football, the leading global sport, unites like nothing else. We all need these occasions of unity and the upcoming FIFA World Cups provide a unique force for good in this respect.’
Amnesty International, a vocal critic of Saudi Arabia’s push into elite-level sport, said on Tuesday that the Kingdom would need to give FIFA ‘clear and binding commitments’ on areas such as human rights, in order to be awarded the prestige of hosting a World Cup.
‘Human rights commitments must be agreed with potential hosts before final decisions on holding the tournaments are made,’ they said.
‘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.’
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.’
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was frustrated at the scheduling of the Qatar World Cup and made his feelings plain.
‘It’s like with the climate. We all know we have to change but nobody is really asking what we have to do. And I’m in that as well, no doubt about that,’ he said.
Infantino and FIFA will face plenty of criticism should Saudi Arabia be ratified as the hosts
Jurgen Klopp was among the many Premier League bosses unimpressed by the winter slot
‘[But I don’t know] why we wouldn’t talk about it and just do it properly and say ‘Ladies and gentlemen, FIFA, UEFA, Premier League, FA, please start talking to each other.’
‘There must be one meeting where they all sit together and the only subject must be – the most important part of this game – the players. It didn’t happen yet because the managers are on a jump seat pretty much. We are in-out, in-out, in-out, why should we be concerned with long-term effects and stuff like this.
‘I’ve been a bit longer here and some others as well so we talk from time to time about it but all the rest have his own interest and that makes it not easier.
‘So this World Cup happens at the wrong moment for the wrong reasons.’
The big issue for Premier League managers and owners is that their seasons will again have to be put on pause, before their domestic seasons drag on into the summer.
There is also the 2035 FIFA Club World Cup that top players will be expected to play in, further adding to their workload.
Handing the tournament to Saudi Arabia, with the process of selecting hosts accelerated, FIFA is facing heavy scrutiny.
By making Saudi effectively hosts-elect eleven years ahead of the tournament, Human Rights Watch has argued that the process for choosing future World Cup competitions has breached their 2017 FIFA Human Rights Policy.
The organisation cited Article Seven which highlights: ‘where the national context risks undermining FIFA’s ability to ensure respect for internationally recognised human rights, FIFA will constructively engage with the relevant authorities and other stakeholders and make every effort to uphold its international human rights responsibilities’.
Human Rights Watch also cited the organisation’s ‘Key Principles of the Reformed Bidding Process’, which was enacted following confirmation of the 2026 hosts North America.
Their introduction states that hosts must ‘formally commit to conducting their activities based on sustainable event management principles and to respecting international human rights and labour standards according to the United Nations’ Guiding Principles.’
The non-governmental organisation stressed that FIFA had ‘failed to apply these principles’ and that the ‘unreasonably tight deadline’ for submitting bids for the 2034 World Cup is cause for further concern.
Saudi Arabia would likely be viewed as a controversial host.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been a key figure in the Kingdom’s bid
It has been criticised for its human rights violations - 81 men were executed on one day last year - women’s rights abuses, the criminalisation of homosexuality, the restriction of free speech and the war in Yemen.
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.
Human rights campaigners say sport is being used by the Saudi government to detract from long-standing reputation issues, a process known as ‘sportswashing’.
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.’
On Tuesday Amnesty International called on Fifa to secure ‘clear and binding commitments’ from Saudi Arabia.
It said: ‘Human rights commitments must be agreed with potential hosts before final decisions on holding the tournaments are made.
‘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.’
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.
Fifa dropped plans for Saudi Arabia to sponsor the 2023 Women’s World Cup following a backlash from co-hosts Australia and New Zealand, players and sponsors, but Saudi Arabia is keen to host the 2035 tournament after forming a women’s team last year.
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.
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.
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‘Everywhere we went was well organised; we were well looked after. If that’s a sign of what a World Cup might look like, structurally it will be really good.’
Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said bidding for the World Cup was ‘not going to be favourable to Australia’.
He said: ‘Saudi is a strong bid. They have a lot of resources, and not just [for] the 2034 World Cup.
‘They are disrupting European football paying higher dollars. This is a disruption in the market and that is what positions Saudi in a strong way. From the government, top down they are prioritising investment in football. That is difficult to compete with.’
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.
A winter World Cup will, once again, require the pausing of domestic league seasons before Christmas, and the extension of those seasons into the summer. In keeping with the current Fifa schedule, the world’s leading players will then go into the summer to play the 2035 Fifa Club World Cup.
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 Fifa president Infantino.
