The 2022 World Cup, a tournament that took place in Qatar in the winter.GETTY
Organizing a World Cup is a complex process in which FIFA establishes itself as the organizer of the World Cup and the hosts give up their territory and infrastructure. The local organizing committees have given way to a society created by FIFA, which decides everything: the venues and stadiums where the games will be held, sponsors, hotels for the teams, training grounds, etc. This model has already been established at the World Cup in Qatar and before implemented by Infantino as UEFA’s general director for the European Cups. This is intended to avoid corruption and favoritism that previously occurred in local organizing committees.
48 teams, 104 games and a month and a half of competition
The new World Cup format will be introduced for the first time at the 2026 World Cup and will remain unchanged in 2030. There will be 48 teams taking part, compared to 32 previously, and they will be divided into 12 groups of four. The first two and the eight best third places advance to the group stage. The increased number of participants will lead to another tie, the Round of 32, and the event will last up to 40 days of competition with a total of 104 games, 40 more than the previous model.
The six hosts have already been classified
Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay are already considered hosts. That the South Americans were given permission to organize only a single match, the opening game, in Montevideo and Argentina and Paraguay’s first matches in their respective countries has caused controversy. Especially in Chile, which was excluded from the first round of South American parties as a member of the first candidacy. Alejandro Domínguez, president of Conmebol, has transferred responsibility to FIFA. However, as this newspaper has learned, there was only the possibility of including three countries and what has weighed on the choice is the status of Uruguay as organizer of the first World Cup in 1930, the status of Argentina as the current world champion and the status of Domínguez Paraguayan and the Conmebol’s headquarters are located in Asunción. In addition, it is also claimed that Chile was the last member to join the candidacy. There was an internal war in which Uruguayans, Argentines and Paraguayans left Chile out.
The opening game will take place in Montevideo and the final will take place at the Santiago Bernabéu
Among the requirements required by FIFA is the availability of at least 14 stadiums, seven of which must already be built. FIFA is expected to add two more venues to the 2030 World Cup venues. The final stadium must have a capacity of at least 80,000 people. The chosen one, even if it is not official, is the Santiago Bernabéu. The decisive factors were the brand new renovation that is now being completed, Real Madrid’s status as a founding club of FIFA and the good relationship between Florentino Pérez and Gianni Infantino. In addition, each candidacy must offer 72 training camps for the 48 participating teams to choose from.
Final venues will be announced in 2026
The cities and stadiums in Spain, Portugal and Morocco that will host the 2030 World Cup will be known in 2026. There will be a long selection process leading up to the final selection, which will be conducted by FIFA, culminating in the final selection. . Typically, each country provides the largest possible number of venues in order to have more opportunities to host a larger number of games. Spain will be the venue with the most weight in terms of the number of games to host, but it will be difficult to host any of the semi-finals if the opening game is played in Montevideo and the final in Madrid. Portugal and Morocco are aiming to host a semi-final each.
Important evaluation criteria for applications and their venues
FIFA evaluates venues based on a criterion that focuses on overall infrastructure at 70% and commercial use at 30%. In terms of infrastructure, stadiums play a role (35%), hotels and training camps for national teams and referees (10%), hotel accommodation (7.5%) for fans, transport (7.5%), fan zones for fans (5% ) and rooms dedicated to the IBC (International Broadcast Center). Each installation is rated as follows: between 0 and 1.9 it does not meet the minimum requirements, between 2 and 2.9 satisfactory, between 3 and 3.9 good and between 4 and 5 very good.
Legacy and other aspects to consider
FIFA also attaches great importance to the legacy that the World Cup will leave both in the host countries and in the surrounding areas. The economic impact of the World Cup is intended to support the development of grassroots and women’s football and the infrastructure that can contribute to this development. When deciding on a candidacy, FIFA also takes into account the support of the governments of the organizing countries and other political forces.
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