June 30 – Qatar is considering a bid to stage the 2029 Club World Cup.
The United States is staging the maiden edition of the controversial 32-team tournament, but future hosts are lining up to stage the second iteration of the finals in four years’ time with the Gulf nation becoming the latest country to express interest, according to reports.
Qatari officials have held talks with FIFA to pitch their interest. In 2022, the Gulf nation became the first country in the Middle East to host the World Cup and those venues could serve for the tournament in 2029.
Qatar also staged the 2024 Asian Cup and will organise the next five U-17 World Cups.
However, the heat in summer in Qatar means that the tournament would have to be moved to winter, which could meet resistance because of the congested calendar. At the same time, European clubs have been swayed by the $1 billion prize pot on offer at the inaugural tournament. FIFA is hoping the Club World Cup will become a firm fixture even if the competition is being bankrolled by Saudi Arabia through SURJ’s $1 billion investment in DAZN, which paid $1 billion for the broadcast rights.
In the United States, weather has played a major role during the tournament, with a heat wave hitting large swathes of the country, leading to complaints from players and managers, who have often been forced to feature in lunchtime kick offs to accommodate international TV audiences. On Monday (today), Fifpro is set to stage a press conference to address heat concerns at the tournament.
Qatar follows in the footsteps of Spain, Morocco and Brazil, who have all expressed interest in staging the 2029 finals. FIFA didn’t stage a bidding process for the 2025 tournament and has not yet rolled out formal bidding rules for the 2029 finals.
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