World Cup 2034 in Saudi Arabia could be pushed into 2035 amid Ramadan and Olympic clash

World football’s showpiece tournament could be staged in 2035 for the first time in history, as FIFA weighs an unprecedented delay to the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia because of a scheduling collision with Ramadan and other major global events.

The tournament, awarded to Saudi Arabia and currently designated as “World Cup 2034”, had been widely expected to follow the Qatar 2022 model and take place in November and December to avoid extreme summer heat.

But that window in 2034 will coincide almost exactly with the holy month of Ramadan – a scenario that has jolted FIFA into re-examining its calendar, according to reports in the UK’s Mirror newspaper.

Ramadan timing poses major logistical test

In 2034, Ramadan is expected to run from about 12 November to 12 December – the same period initially seen as ideal for the finals in Saudi Arabia.

The Mirror reports that staging the World Cup during Ramadan would present “major organisational challenges” on several fronts: for fans travelling to the kingdom, for players and coaching staff who fast during daylight hours, and for host-country operations, as working hours and daily routines change significantly during the holy month.

For Muslim players and staff, fasting could directly affect training schedules, recovery strategies and kick-off times, while organisers would face added complexity in managing transport, hospitality and security in a month when nightlife and public activity patterns are markedly different.

Winter Olympics and extreme heat narrow options

The start of 2034 is also problematic. Holding the tournament in January and February of that year would clash with the Winter Olympic Games, scheduled to take place in Salt Lake City in the United States.

Summer dates appear effectively off the table. Average July temperatures in much of Saudi Arabia range between 40C and 45C, making outdoor elite football extremely difficult even with advanced cooling systems. FIFA came under heavy scrutiny over conditions in Qatar and is wary of similar criticism.

The Mirror adds that the challenge becomes even more complex if FIFA proceeds with plans to expand the World Cup to 64 teams – an increase that would lengthen the tournament by several weeks and further restrict viable windows in the calendar.

January–February 2035 emerges as most ‘realistic’ window

Against this backdrop, January and February 2035 are emerging as the most realistic alternative, the report says.

That slot would allow the World Cup to be completed before the Hajj pilgrimage season, which is forecast to begin in mid-February 2035, and would also avoid overlapping with Christmas and New Year festivities around the world.

However, shifting the competition into 2035 would mean breaking the World Cup’s traditional four-year cycle for the first time in modern history, even if only by a few weeks. It would echo, in football terms, the precedent set when Euro 2020 was postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Infantino calls for ‘flexibility’ over global calendar

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has indicated that the governing body is still evaluating the wider international match calendar rather than focusing solely on a single tournament.

He said: “We discuss this all the time, and it is not only about one World Cup, but about a comprehensive vision of the football calendar.”

Infantino added: “The best month to play football is June, but it is not exploited a lot in Europe. Maybe there are ways to improve the match calendar, and we are still discussing all possibilities, and we have to keep our minds open until we reach the right decision.”

Any final decision on the timing of the Saudi-hosted World Cup will have major implications for domestic leagues, continental competitions and player welfare, as FIFA attempts to juggle religious observance, climatic realities and competing global events in one of the most crowded sports calendars in history.