Saudi Arabia is set to host the 2034 men’s World Cup after Australia decided against bidding to stage the tournament.
Football Australia confirmed its decision only hours before Fifa’s deadline for declarations of interest on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia is the only other nation to bid.
“We have reached the conclusion not to do so for the 2034 competition,” read a statement from Football Australia.
The 2026 World Cup will take place in the US, Mexico and Canada.
Morocco, Portugal and Spain will host the 2030 tournament, with matches also in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Saudi Arabia has hosted several major sporting events since 2018, involving football, Formula 1, golf and boxing.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s sports minister, said the World Cup bid “constitutes an important and natural step in our journey as a country passionate about football”.
The Gulf kingdom has been accused of investing in sport and using high-profile events to improve its international reputation – a process known as sportswashing.
Last month Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said: “If sportswashing is going to increase my GDP by 1%, then we’ll continue doing sportswashing.”
Source: BBC
