ASEAN countries plot bid to host 2034 FIFA World Cup

If the joint bid is uccessful this would mark only the second time that the tournamest is hosted in Asia.

Just days after it was announced that North American nations USA, Canada and Mexico would host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Asian nations of Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam are planning to put in a joint bid to host the 2034 edition of the tournament. There is also interest from Malaysia to aid their fellow ASEAN nations in order to boost Asia's chances of hosting the grand event in 2034.

According to Singapore's Straits Times, FIFA Executive Committee member Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah is confident of Asia's chances of hosting the World Cup in 16 years from now. He said that if any of the nations are successful with the bid, there is a good chance that Malaysia will be a co-host for the event if the government and Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) agree to it.

Speaking at the Aidilfitri Open House at Istana Abdulaziz, Shah said, "The opportunity for us (ASEAN) to bid conceivably has its strengths because three to four countries can share, as what USA, Mexico and Canada did to win the bid and become the 2026 hosts. In fact, the time has come for countries in the ASEAN region to be given the opportunity. In this regard, we hope the infrastructure and strength of ASEAN's football teams would have been consolidated by then."

Shah also spoke to Berita Harian about Malaysia's stance on co-hosting the World Cup and stated, “I don’t think it is a problem if Malaysia chooses to bid for the World Cup in 2034. It is up to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the government to make a decision."

“Southeast Asia has an opportunity for a joint bid because it allows a few countries to host the tournament, just like the United States, Canada and Mexico did for the 2026 World Cup.” he asserted.

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But, he also mentioned that if Malaysia were serious about participating in a joint bid, then they would have to overhaul their stadium infrastructure and convert them into world-class facilities which are required to host a FIFA tournament.

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If successful, the 2034 edition would be the first time an Asian nation would host the World Cup since 2002 when South Korea and Japan hosted the tournament. With FIFA being visibly pleased with the U-17 World Cup in India and the U-20 extravaganza in South Korea, both of which took place last year, they could seriously consider bringing back the grand event to the Asian countries somewhere down the line.

The joint countries of Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam also successfully hosted the AFC Asian Cup in 2007, which was won by Iraq. Thailand previously hosted the tournament back in 1973 and seem to have the viable resources and infrastructure to host many matches of the World Cup if needed.