By Victor Kanayo
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday won the bid to host the 2034 men’s FIFA World Cup.
This is after Australia decided to pull out of the process.
Before then, the Asian Football Confederation threw its weight behind Saudi Arabia, which was the hot favourite to land the event.
Confirming their withdrawal, the Football Australia said in a statement, “We have explored the opportunity to bid to host the FIFA World Cup and — having taken all factors into consideration — we reached the conclusion not to do so for the 2034 competition.
“Achieving this — following the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 and with the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games — would represent a truly golden decade for Australian football.”
There had been talk of a joint bid from Indonesia and Australia for 2034, but the former recently said it supported the Saudi bid.
Neighbouring nation, Qatar, hosted the 2022 edition of the mundial.
FIFA had invited bids from the Asia and Oceania regions for the rotating World Cup hosting rights after naming Morocco, Spain and Portugal as joint hosts for 2030.
