It's official. Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 Men's Football World Cup, with global body FIFA confirming the development on December 11. (More Football News)

FIFA's announcement came along with its other decision of approving the sole candidate to host the 2030 World Cup. Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host in a six-nation project, with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay each getting one of the 104 games.

Meanwhile, after Qatar in the 2022 edition, Saudi Arabia will become the second Middle East nation to host the marquee tournament. Saudi's bid, the only candidate in fray, found applause from more than 200 FIFA member federations. They took part remotely in an online meeting hosted in Zurich by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Though the Saudi edition is still 10 years away, the nation receiving hosting rights has raised a number of questions in football lovers' minds. Here are five things we know about the 2034 World Cup so far:

When In 2034 Will The World Cup Be Played?

The dates of the 2034 FIFA World Cup are not yet confirmed, but FIFA's evaluation report states that "local climatic conditions" would favour games being played between "October and April."

The festival of Ramadan is another factor cited by FIFA, with the evaluation report saying it is "important to consider religious events in determining the timeline for the competition. Ramadan ... and the yearly Hajj pilgrimage, when more than 1.5 million pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia from around the world, would have to be taken into account." Ramadan will be observed between November 11 and December 10 in 2034.

How Many Countries Will Compete And Which Cities Will Host The Matches?

The 2034 FIFA World Cup will have 48 teams participating in a single host nation for the first time in the history of the tournament. The matches will be played across 15 stadiums in five host cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar, Abha and Neom.

Why Was Saudi Arabia The Only Bidder?

The answer to this question involves several aspects. According to the FIFA Council's "principle of confederation rotation", the confederations of Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania were considered as potential hosts. The North and Central American confederation was excluded as the 2026 World Cup will be hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Similarly, as Qatar hosted in 2022, Asia should have had to wait until 2042 to host another World Cup under the above rotation rules. But with the 2030 tournament being held across three confederations (UEFA, CAF and CONMEBOL), Asia and Oceania suddenly emerged to the forefront in 2034.

Australia had left the Oceania confederation for the Asian one in 2006, which essentially implies no Oceania country can really host a Men's World Cup as New Zealand doesn't have the stadiums necessary.

Indonesia decided to back Saudi Arabia's bid, which altered a lot of dynamics in Asia, including a potential 10-country bid from the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). China, too did not participate in the bidding process, leaving Saudi Arabia as the sole 2034 bidder by the end of October 2023.

Why Is The Decision Facing Criticism? What Are The Critics Saying?

Human rights groups have warned that the decision to select Saudi Arabia as the host nation will put the lives of migrant workers at risk. An international collective of rights groups said FIFA made a “reckless decision” to approve Saudi Arabia without getting public assurances, and the Football Supporters Europe group said it was “the day football truly lost its mind.”

Amnesty International said awarding the tournament to Saudi Arabia represents “a moment of great danger” for human rights. “FIFA’s reckless decision to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia without ensuring adequate human rights protections are in place will put many lives at risk,” said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Labor Rights and Sport.”

What's Special About Saudi's Bid?

One of the stadiums is planned to be 350 metres above the ground in Neom, which in itself is a futuristic city that does not yet exist. The city, planned in the northwest of the country, will reportedly only be accessible via high-speed lifts and driverless vehicles. Further, another stadium named for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is designed to be atop a 200-metre cliff near Riyadh.