The coast is now clear for Saudi Arabia to host the 2034 World Cup following the withdrawal of Australia in the bidding process.
FIFA had earlier invited bids from Asia and Oceania for the tournament by October 31.
Australia confirmed it would not make a bid for soccer’s global showpiece on Tuesday’s deadline day.
According to Football Australia (FA) boss James Johnson, he said the country was “exploring the possibility” of 2034, but on Tuesday the governing body said it would instead focus on bids for the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup and the 2029 Club World Cup.
This automatically left Saudi Arabia in a pole position to host the Mundial as the only bidder.
The country had earlier bid only minutes after soccer’s global governing body called for Asia and Oceania bids on October 4.
In another move that further solidify Saudi’s pole position, the president of the Asian Football Confederation, the sport’s continental governing body to which Australia belongs, said “the entire Asian football family” would stand united in support of the Saudi bid.
Should the country successfully host the world soccer game, it would be a dream come through in view of its globalization drive that has seen it invested billions of dollars in its economy diversification project.
Earlier, FIFA had awarded the 2030 World Cup also the centenary celebration to Morocco, Portugal and Spain, also adding World Cup centenary games in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay