Morocco, Spain and Portugal will host the 2030 World Cup – but the first three games of the tournament will be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
A South American bid to host the entire tournament had been made to mark the 100th anniversary of the first-ever World Cup, and FIFA said on Wednesday that the decision to award Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay the opening games was part of the tournament’s 100th anniversary .
All six countries automatically qualify for the tournament and it will be the first World Cup to be played on three continents.
Uruguay hosted and won the first World Cup in 1930. Argentina was the losing finalist, while the headquarters of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) is in Paraguay. CONMEBOL was the only confederation in existence at the time of the 1930 tournament.
After the first three games, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and their three opponents travel to Morocco, Spain and Portugal for the remainder of the tournament.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed that the opening match would be played at Uruguay’s Estadio Centenario, the stadium built specifically for the 1930 tournament and where the final took place.
The opening ceremony will still take place in Morocco, Portugal or Spain.
The 2030 tournament will be Morocco’s first time hosting the World Cup, following five unsuccessful bids to host the tournament’s versions in 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2026. It will also be the first country to host World Cup games in North Africa.
Morocco had originally planned to make a solo bid before joining forces with Spain and Portugal in March.
Portugal will also host for the first time after submitting unsuccessful bids to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups alongside Spain, which hosted the 1982 edition. Portugal hosted Euro 2004, where they were defeated in the final.
Ukraine joined Spain and Portugal’s bid to host some group games in October last year, but their readiness for a major tournament was questionable given the ongoing war with Russia.
It is the first time a World Cup will be played in six different countries, with the 2026 tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States the only other edition to feature more than two host nations.
As the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) will host in 2026 and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), CONMBEOL and UEFA in 2030, FIFA will seek to accept applications in line with its rotation policy Asia to welcome Football Confederation (AFC) and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the 2034 tournament.
“The FIFA Council unanimously agreed that the only bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup will be the joint bid by Morocco, Portugal and Spain,” Infantino said. “Two continents – Africa and Europe – united not only in the celebration of football, but also in the creation of a unique social and cultural cohesion. What a great message of peace, tolerance and inclusion.
“In 2030, we will have a unique global presence, three continents – Africa, Europe and South America – six countries – Argentina, Morocco, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain and Uruguay – welcoming and uniting the world while celebrating the beautiful game 100- year anniversary and the FIFA World Cup”,
Alejandro Dominguez, CONMBEOL president, said: “It is a historic event and CONMEBOL is happy. We honor the memory of those who came before us and today we are at that level. We thank you again for the trust that FIFA and our colleagues have placed in a historic event and date.
“The good thing is that with three countries and three hosts we are talking about almost no other investment than what already exists. And that is very good news because we all know that unfortunately we cannot compete in this context if it had been about investments or monetary requirements.
“If this had been a competition where our governments had to provide the resources that host countries are providing today, I think that would have been an irresponsible proposal on our part.” And I think we wouldn’t have been able to do that either, because we know that there are other countries that have much better economic conditions and fewer priorities than our nations. So I think this is an extremely responsible and very viable proposal.”
(Photo: Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)