India will not host FIFA World Cup 2034 matches as Saudi Arabia reject proposal

India’s hopes of hosting around 10 matches of the 2034 FIFA World Cup have taken a huge blow. However, this was expected since FIFA doesn’t allow changes to the host country once the formal bid has been accepted. 

Saudi Arabia have reaffirmed that they intend to host all 108 matches on their own, which means India will not host any games. And as a result, they will also not qualify for the tournament directly and they will have to make it to the tournament through the Asian Qualifiers. 

India will not host any 2034 FIFA World Cup matches after Saudi rebuttal 

AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey revealed that the board was in talks with Saudi Arabia to host some games. They successfully hosted the U-17 FIFA World Cup for men in 2017 and for women in 2022, and have proven themselves capable of handling such a tournament. 

But any changes are not possible now, especially since Saudi aren’t interested in sharing their rights. As a result, they will have to fight their way into the tournament if they hope to qualify. But with the increased number of teams, they will also have a better chance at doing so. 

The Indian national team will be in action in January when they participate in the AFC Asian Cup 2023.