New Delhi: Spain, Portugal, and Morocco have been selected to co-host the 2030 men’s World Cup, but the opening match is scheduled to take place in South America to mark the centenary of the FIFA World Cup. The tournament will be played across different seasons and hemispheres within six countries.
Who else bid to host the 2030 World Cup?
In early 2023, four South American nations—Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay submitted a joint bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup. However, by October FIFA confirmed that the combined bid from Morocco, Portugal, and Spain was the only remaining candidate.
Initially, Spain and Portugal had launched a joint bid in 2021 with Ukraine joining the partnership a year later following Russia’s invasion. However, Morocco eventually replaced Ukraine in the bid, reportedly due to concerns over the ongoing war and governance challenges within Ukraine’s Football Association.
While Spain previously hosted the World Cup in 1982 both Portugal and Morocco have yet to host the tournament.
Introducing the hosts for the next two editions of the @FIFAWorldCup! 🏆
Morocco, Portugal and Spain will host in 2030, with centenary celebration matches in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Four years later, Saudi Arabia will host the FIFA World Cup 2034™. pic.twitter.com/WdOEdNEVxH
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) December 11, 2024
Proposed stadiums for the 2030 World Cup
The stadiums for the 2030 FIFA World Cup are yet to be finalized, but the official bid evaluation report outlines 20 venues across the three co-hosts. Spain will be hosting the most matches, having put forward 11 stadiums including Barcelona’s Camp Nou which is the largest football stadium in Europe and Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu.
All the FIFA World Cup 2030 Stadiums https://t.co/V6tmiy0dvj pic.twitter.com/VbI6dF8v9Y
— Has Haaland played a World Cup or Euro? (@HasHaalandApp) December 11, 2024
Currently, Camp Nou is under renovation which would increase its capacity to 105,000. Portugal has presented three stadiums while Morocco has put forward six stadiums. Portugal stadiums include Estadio Jose Alvalade, Estadio da Luz and Estadio do Dragao – the homes of Sporting CP, Benfica, and Porto respectively.
In Morocco last year President of the Royal Mocco Football Federation announced that five existing stadiums would be used alongside a new stadium under construction in Casablanca. This will mark the first time World Cup matches are hosted in North Africa. The proposed venues for the final include Barcelona’s Camp Nou, the Bernabeu in Madrid, and Morocco’s Grand Stade Hassan II, which is still being built.
Why will the opening matches take place in South America?
The opening three matches of the 2030 FIFA World Cup will be held in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay to commemorate the tournament’s 100th anniversary. The inaugural World Cup in 1930 was hosted by Uruguay, who claimed victory against Argentina in the final.
FIFA confirm the 2030 World Cup will be hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain.
Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will host the first three games in celebration of the tournament’s 100-year anniversary 🏆 pic.twitter.com/lU4HiJGaeA
— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 11, 2024
Paraguay’s inclusion acknowledges its role as the home of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), the oldest continental football federation in the world and the only one in existence during the first World Cup.
Qualified teams
The tournament hosts secure direct qualification which means Portugal, Spain and Morocco plus Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay are guaranteed spots. The other spots will be decided through qualifiers in each of the continental confederations. Qualification places are to be divided between the confederations, the quota for which are yet to be confirmed for 2030 but let’s take how the places were allocated for the 2026 World Cup which was also a 48-team tournament.
UEFA (Europe)- 16 places
Confederation of African Football – nine places
Asian Football Confederation – eight places
Concacaf (North, Central America, and the Caribbean) – six places
Conmebol – six places
Oceania Football Confederation – one place
The remaining two spots will be decided through a play-off tournament that will feature six teams.
Format of the tournament
The 2030 FIFA World Cup will feature 48 teams, continuing the expansion introduced for the 2026 tournament. This marks a departure from the 32-team format used since 1998.
The tournament will follow a similar structure to 2026 with teams divided into 12 groups of four. The top two teams from each group along with the eight best third-placed teams will advance to the round of 32. The increased number of teams will result in a total of 104 matches played throughout the tournament.
FIFA has announced that the match schedule will be adapted to accommodate teams participating in the centenary games in South America providing them with additional days for travel, rest, and preparation. The tournament is set to begin on June 8, with the final scheduled for July 21, 2030.
Explore the 2030 FIFA World Cup details, co-hosted by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, with opening matches in South America and 48 teams competing globally. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
