Saudi Arabia is set to host the men’s 2034 World Cup after Fifa confirmed it was the only bidder for the tournament.

Australia decided against bidding to stage the tournament hours before Fifa’s deadline for declarations of interest on Tuesday.

relationships, its human rights record and its treatment of migrant workers.

Fifa dropped plans for Saudi Arabia to sponsor the 2023 Women’s World Cup following a backlash from co-hosts Australia and New Zealand, players and sponsors, but Saudi Arabia is keen to host the 2035 tournament after forming a women’s team last year.

Like the 2022 men’s tournament, the 2034 edition would almost certainly be held in winter because of extreme heat in the summer, although modernising existing infrastructure rather than building new stadiums would likely make it more environmentally friendly than Qatar.

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.

“Everywhere we went was well organised; we were well looked after. If that’s a sign of what a World Cup might look like, structurally it will be really good.”

Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said bidding for the World Cup was “not going to be favourable to Australia”.

He said: “Saudi is a strong bid. They have a lot of resources, and not just [for] the 2034 World Cup.

“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.”