Saudi Arabia's World Cup ambitions are 'boosted by key FIFA voting change' as the oil-rich nation looks to be named 2034 tournament hosts at upcoming election

• e-mail

FIFA have announced a change to the voting process of nations wanting to host the World Cup in a move that massively boosts Saudi Arabia's ambitions, according to reports.

The Middle Eastern nation want to host the 2034 World Cup and are expected to secure the required votes after FIFA changed the process of how the competition is awarded.

Previously, there were separate votes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups held in Russia and Qatar respectively, but that will now be changed for countries competing to hold upcoming editions of the iconic competition.

Instead, FIFA has decided that votes for the 2030 and 2034 tournament's will be held 'en bloc' in what is a bizarre rule change from football's global governing body, as reported by the Times.

The decision to change the awarding process means that if countries want to vote against Saudi Arabia then they will also vote against Spain, Portugal and Morocco who are bidding to host the World Cup in six years.

FIFA have announced a change to the voting process of nations wanting to host the World Cup

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is keen to continue expanding the hosting of the competition to new nations

SAFF President Yasser Al Misehal (pictured) wants to bring the World Cup to the nation

A unanimous agreement was made by FIFA council members to change the previous process that makes it more difficult for unhappy nations to go against Saudi Arabia.

The Kingdom is desperate to stage the World Cup after watching neighbouring Qatar become the centre of the sporting world during the 2022 competition that saw Lionel Messi finally ends his wait for the legendary title.

Saudi Arabia officials have also developed a strong relationship with FIFA president president Gianni Infantino who is keen to see the competition expand its global reach.

Officials from the oil-rich nation most recently handed out goodie bags to FIFA Council members when they met at the organisation's headquarters in Zurich on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia want to better Qatar's 2022 World Cup that saw Lionel Messi finally win the competition

However, Saudi Arabia were the only country to submit a bid for the 2034 World Cup prior to the deadline last year as they look to continue their huge investment in the sporting world.

The election to decide the proposed future hosting of the World Cup will be held virtually on December 11.

Speaking previously about Saudi Arabia's ambitions, SAFF President Yasser Al Misehal said: 'Telling our football story to the world is of massive importance.

'We've made unprecedented progress in both the men's and women's game, and our bid is an open invitation to the world to join us on this exciting journey.'