Author: Amrit Santlani
The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be hosted by six countries, according to a historic announcement. Three continents, including South America, will host the centenary edition of the FIFA World Cup, 100 years after the inaugural tournament was played in Montevideo in 1930.
The first three matches of the 2030 edition will be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, after which the 48-team carnival will be held in Europe and Africa. Spain, Portugal and Morocco have been chosen as co-hosts and all six host nations will have direct entry to the tournament.
The opening match is scheduled to take place in Montevideo, Uruguay, where the 1930 World Cup was played, then it will be Argentina’s turn, followed by Paraguay. Spain previously hosted the World Cup in 1982, while Portugal will be hosting the event for the first time. Morocco will be only the second African country, after South Africa, to host the world show.
The decision will be ratified at the FIFA congress next year. In addition, world soccer’s governing body has confirmed that the bids of the Asian Confederation and the Oceania Confederation will be considered for the 2034 World Cup.
Saudi Arabia has thus confirmed its desire to hold the World Cup on Gulf soil for the second time, after the 2022 edition was held in Qatar. It is not yet known which nations will challenge the Saudi candidacy for 2034.
October 31 is the deadline for submitting bids for the 2034 World Cup. Speaking about the 2030 World Cup being hosted in six nations and three continents, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said they hoped to “unite” the world.
“In a divided world, FIFA and soccer are coming together. 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 as we celebrate the beautiful game, the centenary and the Fifa World Cup together” he said.