New Zealand Keen to Host Men’s World Cup with Australia

Colombian fans show support during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Quarter Final soccer match between England and Colombia at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, 12 August 2023. (EPA)
Colombian fans show support during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Quarter Final soccer match between England and Colombia at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, 12 August 2023. (EPA)
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New Zealand Keen to Host Men’s World Cup with Australia

Colombian fans show support during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Quarter Final soccer match between England and Colombia at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, 12 August 2023. (EPA)
Colombian fans show support during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Quarter Final soccer match between England and Colombia at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, 12 August 2023. (EPA)

New Zealand Football is "rapt" with how the Women's World Cup has gone and hopes to partner with Australia again to host the men's tournament, Chief Executive Andrew Pragnell said.

The first 32-team Women's World Cup - and the first hosted by more than one country - has been the most well-attended in the tournament's history and generated record crowds for women's soccer matches in Australia and New Zealand.

"We are both obviously rapt with how the tournament has gone," Pragnell told New Zealand news website Stuff.

"FIFA are over the moon and couldn't be happier also. We’ve shown what we always knew - that we would host the best ever Women’s World Cup.

"It's only natural that at some time in the future we would host a men's World Cup.

"It’s likely to be some sort of Asia-Pacific partnership, and I would see Australia and NZ as a foundation of that, for sure."

Football Australia boss James Johnson has repeatedly said Australia would like to host the men's World Cup but will need stadiums that meet FIFA requirements.

The global governing body requires hosts to have minimum seating of 40,000 for group stage matches, 60,000 for semi-finals and 80,000 for the final.

Auckland's 50,000-seat Eden Park is New Zealand's only stadium that meets the threshold for group matches.

Pragnell said New Zealand would want to liaise with FIFA on the stadiums issue.

"I don’t think anyone wants to see a scenario where infrastructure is built that wouldn’t be used again," he said.

"From our experiences with FIFA in this World Cup, they are willing to work with you and be flexible."

The next men's World Cup in 2026 will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.



Crown Prince, Trump Tour Stadium Exhibition of 2034 FIFA World Cup in Saudi Arabia

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, speaks with US President Donald Trump on the day of the Saudi-US Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. (Reuters)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, speaks with US President Donald Trump on the day of the Saudi-US Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. (Reuters)
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Crown Prince, Trump Tour Stadium Exhibition of 2034 FIFA World Cup in Saudi Arabia

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, speaks with US President Donald Trump on the day of the Saudi-US Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. (Reuters)
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, speaks with US President Donald Trump on the day of the Saudi-US Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. (Reuters)

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and US President Donald Trump toured on Tuesday the projects of stadiums that will be used at the 2034 FIFA World Cup that will be hosted by Saudi Arabia.

The exhibition was held on the sidelines of the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh.

The leaders paused to admire the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium that will be constructed in Riyadh and which is seen as the most prominent of the projects that will consolidate the region's position on the global football map.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino took part in the forum where he appeared with the official match ball for the 32-team FIFA Club World Cup 2025, which will take place in the US from June 14 to July 13 with Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal among the 32 participating teams.

Infantino took part in a fireside chat with Richard Attias, Founder and Chairman of the eponymous Richard Attias and Associates and Chairman of the Executive Committee, FII Institute, said FIFA in a statement.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (L) presents the official match ball for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 during the Saudi-US investment forum in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. (AFP)

The 2034 World Cup, the first with 48 teams to be held in a single nation, will showcase Saudi Arabia’s rich heritage, dynamic transformation and deep-rooted passion for football, it added.

“The country also enjoys a growing reputation as a world-class international destination, hosting a number of sporting events, including the inaugural FIFA Series in 2024, the FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023 and the upcoming 2027 AFC Asian Cup,” it noted.

Infantino explained that countries such as Saudi Arabia could help football fulfill its potential financially. “The global football GDP (gross domestic product) in one year today is around USD 270 billion of which about 70% is produced in Europe,” he said.

Pointing out that the European GDP is much smaller when compared to the global GDP, he added: “If the rest of the world, in particular Saudi Arabia or the United States, would do just 20% of what Europe does in soccer, we (could reach an amount of over) half a trillion or more of GDP impact (with our sport). The potential for football is huge.”

“The opportunities are huge. Football is a game followed by five billion people around the world. We need to find a way to connect these five billion people, because that’s what they are watching: a (FIFA) World Cup, 104 games in one month, 104 Super Bowls in one month,” Infantino said.

“A competition like the (FIFA) World Cup is really transformative, not just for a country, and for a region, but really for the entire world. Football is, of course, the world’s number one sport. Five billion people are football fans, or soccer fans, around the world.”