The 2034 World Cup could be played in January, with FIFA expected to announce Saudi Arabia as the host nation at their congress next week. The Middle East kingdom is the only country in the running to host the tournament.
A total of 48 countries will feature at the World Cup, with the tournament being expanded by 16 teams from 2026 onwards.
And a mid-season event would force the Premier League to take a pause for a second time after top flight games were temporarily halted during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
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As things stand, the Saudi Arabia World Cup is still scheduled to take place in the summer. But, according to The Sun, a tournament at that time of the year is infeasible on health and safety grounds due to temperatures in the country potentially reaching 45 degrees.
And the current dates also coincide with the Ramadan religious period where Muslims have to fast during the day.
Unless the Saudi authorities agree to allow non-observance of the main religious festival, which is thought to be unlikely, the tournament could be played 10 months earlier than expected.
The hosts for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups will be confirmed when representatives of the 211 FIFA member associations meet virtually.
The 2030 tournament is set to be played across three continents as Spain, Portugal and Morocco will stage the bulk of the matches after Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay each host a game at the start of the event.
The final decisions for the two World Cups are expected to go through “by acclimation”.
Two years ago, the Premier League was halted for six weeks between November 13 and December 26 as the World Cup headed to Qatar.
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England were drawn in Group B and opened their campaign with a convincing 6-2 victory over Iran. The Three Lions were then held to a 1-1 draw by USA before confirming their place at the top of their group by dispatching Wales 3-0.
Gareth Southgate’s side sailed through their last-16 encounter as they thumped Senegal 3-0 at the Al-Bayt Stadium.
But they were eventually dumped out by France in the quarter-finals after Harry Kane missed a late penalty. The 1998 World Cup champions opened the scoring early on as Aurelien Tchouameni fired the ball past Jordan Pickford from long-range, before Kane equalised from the penalty spot.
But France nudged ahead again through Olivier Giroud, with Kane unable to get his side on level terms for a second time when given another opportunity from 12 yards. France went on to lose the final on penalties to Argentina after a thrilling 3-3 draw after extra time in one of the greatest matches in football history.
