Next month, FIFA is expected to hold a ceremony to officially announce Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2034 World Cup. This Middle Eastern country is considered to have taken the flag to host the biggest football festival on the planet in November 2023 after Australia withdrew at the last minute. The deadline for countries to register to host the 2034 World Cup is 11pm on October 31, 2023, but just before that time, the representative of Oceania has abandoned the race.
Unlike other continents, Europe often organizes a rather grand regional World Cup qualifying draw. In 2015, Russia held a very large-scale draw for the 2018 World Cup. For the 2022 World Cup, the draw for the entire final round was held online in Zurich, Switzerland in December 2020. At that time, the whole world was struggling to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, so it was difficult for regions to organize their own as usual.
With the World Cup set to increase in number of teams and Europe benefiting the most (more tickets), the qualifiers in the old continent will be given the most attention. Therefore, FIFA has made a slight change to the qualifying format in Europe. The 55 teams will be divided into 7 groups of 5 teams and 5 groups of 4 teams. Teams in groups with 5 representatives will start qualifying from March 2025. Meanwhile, groups with 4 teams will start from September 2025 at the earliest.
The 12 teams that finish the qualifying round with the top position in their groups will secure tickets to the 2026 World Cup. The remaining 4 representatives will be found after the play-off matches.
Returning to the story of why the 2026 World Cup qualifying draw for Europe was held online, according to The Guardian, Mr. Gianni Infantino is trying to avoid criticism. The head of FIFA is at the center of a public storm aimed at himself when awarding the right to host the World Cup to Saudi Arabia in 2034.
Although Saudi Arabia is the only country left to bid before the 11pm deadline of October 31, 2023, Infantino's decision to award the hosting rights to this country has been opposed. European media said that although Saudi Arabia is the only candidate left to submit a bid, the voting process from the members must still be carried out. If FIFA member countries are allowed to vote to accept or reject Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2034 World Cup, it is unlikely that most will agree with Infantino's opinion.
The Guardian also believes that holding the 2026 World Cup qualifying draw for Europe online will help Infantino avoid meeting representatives of football federations in the old continent, who are not fond of the FIFA president after favoring Saudi Arabia.
