FIFA announced on Wednesday that six nations across three continents will host the 2030 World Cup in an effort to commemorate the event’s 100th anniversary.
The decision was reached following extensive consultation with all confederations and given the importance of marking the centenary of the FIFA World Cup.
Morocco, Portugal, and Spain will host the event in 2030 and qualify automatically from the existing slot allocation, while Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina will all stage an opening match each.
“In a divided world, FIFA and football are uniting,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “The FIFA Council, representing the entire world of football, unanimously agreed to celebrate the centenary of the FIFA World Cup, whose first edition was played in Uruguay in 1930, in the most appropriate way. As a result, a celebration will take place in South America, and three South American countries – Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay – will organize one match each of the FIFA World Cup 2030. The first of these three matches will be played at the stadium where it all began, in Montevideo’s mythical Estádio Centenário, precisely to celebrate the centenary edition of the FIFA World Cup.”
“The FIFA Council also agreed unanimously that the only bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2030 will be the joint bid of Morocco, Portugal, and Spain,” the FIFA President added. “Two continents – Africa and Europe – united not only in celebrating football but also in providing unique social and cultural cohesion. What a great message of peace, tolerance, and inclusion.
“In 2030, we will have a unique global footprint, three continents – Africa, Europe and South America – six countries – Argentina, Morocco, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain and Uruguay – welcoming and uniting the world while celebrating together the beautiful game, the centenary, and the FIFA World Cup,” the FIFA President concluded.
The 2030 World Cup will be the first to be held on three different continents and the first to feature matches in six different nations.
Morocco will therefore be the first North African nation to host official matches and will also serve as the host nation for the first time for the World Cup.
Spain hosted the event in 1982; Portugal will be the event’s new first-time host.
