Infantino ensured a clear run for the Asian confederation – and, by extension, Saudi – at 2034 by structuring the 2030 finals across three confederations – Europe, Africa and South America. The Fifa Club World Cup will be staged in Jeddah in December. The first of the expanded formats will be in the United States in 2025. Johnson said: “We went into the process in 2010 [for the 2022 World Cup finals] and got one vote, as I am sure you remember. We don’t want to end up in a situation like that again. We have to be realistic: Saudi is a strong bid. They have a lot of resources, and not just the 2034 World Cup [bidding project]. After Tuesday's deadline passed, football's world governing body confirmed the bids for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups and said there will now be "thorough bidding and evaluation processes" for the tournaments. 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."

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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."

It said: "Human rights commitments must be agreed with potential hosts before final decisions on holding the tournaments are made. PIF has taken control of four of the nation's top clubs - Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr - in the Saudi Pro League, and Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar are among the high-profile players to have joined the league, which was formed in 1976. Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth Human rights campaigners say sport is being used by the Saudi government to detract from long-standing reputation issues, a process known as 'sportswashing'.

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As we live in an increasingly divided and aggressive world, we show once again that football, the leading global sport, unites like nothing else." This dialogue will focus on the defined priority areas of the event vision and key metrics, infrastructure, services, commercial, and sustainability and human rights." He also said hosting tournament would be offer an "open invitation to the world to experience our rich football culture". Fifa said it will "conduct a targeted dialogue with bidders, to ensure complete, comprehensive bids are received and evaluated against the minimum hosting requirements as also previously approved by the Fifa Council.

Morocco, Portugal and Spain are the only bidders for the 2030 edition, with games also played in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Reports and Highlights 31/10/23 9:45pm Devine sends Port Vale past Mansfield and into Carabao Cup QFs

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Vintage Magazines| Football Books| Other collectable Football Books| Vintage Football Annuals| News of the World Football Annuals The perfect gift for the true football fan! 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. 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." Another sporting milestone for Saudi Arabia? Derby County trailblazer Kira Rai says the work has only just begun after speaking of her pride at changing the face of women's football together with Sky Sports.WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury attracted criticism for praising Saudi officials external-link and Bin Salman before his victory over former UFC fighter Francis Ngannou in Riyadh last weekend.