Saudi Arabia has been officially confirmed as the host nation of the men's 2034 FIFA World Cup.

A virtual meeting of FIFA's Congress on Wednesday rubber-stamped the kingdom's bid to host the tournament.

The same meeting ratified Spain, Portugal and Morocco as co-hosts for the 2030 tournament, which will also stage the opening three matches in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to mark the World Cup's centenary year.

The competition was first held in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1930. 

Saudi Arabia was essentially already guaranteed as the 2034 hosts as no other country ran in the bidding process. 

The process began in October 2023, with countries only given a month to express an interest. 

Australia - the only other possible candidate - decided not to enter the running, meaning the Saudi bid would be unopposed.

FIFA rotational rules determined that only countries from Asia and Oceania could bid for the 2034 edition, as the 2030 tournament will take place across three continents - Europe, Africa, and South America - and the 2026 edition will be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the USA, ruling out North and Central America. 

The confirmation was made even more of a formality by the publication of FIFA's evaluation report last month.