Fifa issues glowing Saudi 2034 World Cup report despite human rights fears

• Bid deemed to have medium risk in evaluation report
• 2034 offering gets higher score from Fifa than 2026 bid

Saudi Arabia's 2034 World Cup bid received a higher technical score from Fifa than the 2026 joint bid by the United States, Canada and Mexico, even though the Middle Eastern nation has yet to construct a number of stadiums proposed for the tournament.

Fifa released its bid evaluation report in the early hours of Saturday morning and said the 2034 bid received an overall average score of 4.2 out of 5, though eight stadiums are still to be built. All venues - including the planned 92,760-seater King Salman International Stadium in Riyadh - will not be completed until 2032, but three new stadiums are expected to be finished for the Asian Cup which kicks off in January 2027.