James Johnson, CEO of the Australian Football Association, said on Thursday that his country is still studying the possibility of hosting the 2034 World Cup, despite the Asian Football Confederation’s announcement of its support for Saudi Arabia.
After Morocco, Spain and Portugal were chosen as hosts for the 2030 World Cup on Wednesday, with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay hosting the opening matches to mark the tournament’s centenary, FIFA then invited countries from the Asia and Oceania regions to submit their bids to host 2034.
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The Saudi Football Association announced its offer minutes later, with AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa welcoming the announcement by saying “the entire Asian football family will stand united in support of Saudi Arabia’s important initiative.”
Australia, which moved to the AFC from Oceania in 2006, has already announced its intention to bid to host the 2034 tournament, and Johnson said nothing has changed.
“As previously reported, Football Federation Australia is exploring the possibility of applying to host the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and/or 2034 FIFA World Cup,” he said in a statement.
“We are pleased that after the great success of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023, the football family in Asia and Oceania will once again have the opportunity to showcase its ability to welcome the world and host the best FIFA tournaments.”
The deadline for potential hosts to submit confirmations of interest is October 31.
Australia has never hosted a men’s World Cup, and was eliminated in the first round of voting for the 2022 event, held in Qatar.
The 2026 World Cup will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, which will be the first to feature 48 teams.
