Gianni Infantino will avoid any scrutiny of the controversial decision to give the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia next month after Fifa opted to stage the qualifying draw for the 2026 tournament as a virtual event.
Saudi Arabia’s successful 2034 bid will be confirmed by acclamation at an extraordinary Fifa congress, to be held online on 11 December, while the Guardian has learned that the draw for European qualifying for the 2026 World Cup two days later will also take place remotely.
Infantino is under pressure to explain several recent controversial decisions from Fifa, particularly giving Saudi Arabia World Cup hosting rights without a vote and its organisation of next year’s Club World Cup, and has opted to keep the world’s media away from Zurich. The 54-year-old has not given a press conference since he was re-elected president at the 73rd Fifa congress in Rwanda in March 2023, causing surprise by refusing to speak after this year’s congress in Bangkok.
The European qualifying draw for the World Cup has traditionally been a big event, with Vladimir Putin attending the draw for the 2018 tournament in Russia that was held in St Petersburg three years earlier, while previous draws were also held in the host country that would be staging the finals.
The preliminary draw for the 2022 tournament in Qatar was streamed from Zurich in December 2020, although much of the world was living with Covid-19 lockdown restrictions at that point and international travel was severely limited, so Fifa had little option. Fifa appears to have embraced the lockdown model and Europe’s coaches have been invited to attend a draw online next month.
Several national associations are understood to have expressed surprise at arrangements as they were expecting to travel to Zurich, although on this occasion it may suit the Football Association. The governing body has been criticised for permitting the incoming England manager, Thomas Tuchel, to delay his start date until January, and its involvement in a glitzy draw ceremony may have been overshadowed by a debate over whether the German should attend.
In a change of format, the 55 European teams will be drawn into seven groups of five and five groups of four. Teams drawn in groups of five will begin qualifying in March, while the smaller groups will not start their campaigns until next September.
The 12 group winners will qualify automatically for the 48-team World Cup in the United States, while the four remaining spots will be determined by playoffs.
Fifa declined to comment, although sources in Zurich pointed out that a virtual draw would lead to a significant reduction in air travel and carbon emissions. More details of the draw procedure are expected to be announced later this week.
In addition to announcing Saudi Arabia as 2034 hosts, the extraordinary Fifa congress will also confirm the successful joint bid from Morocco, Portugal and Spain to stage the 2030 tournament, with one game each also to be held in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay in a celebration of the World Cup’s centenary.
