World Cup 2030: Hosted by Morocco, Spain and Portugal, with three opening matches being held in South America

Morocco, Spain and Portugal will host the 2030 World Cup finals, but the opening three matches of the tournament will be held in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.

A bid was made by South America to host the entire tournament to mark the centenary of the first World Cup, and FIFA said on Wednesday that the decision to award Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay the right to host the opening matches was part of the tournament’s centenary.

All six countries will automatically qualify for the tournament, and it will be the first World Cup to be held on three continents.

Uruguay hosted and won the first World Cup in 1930, with Argentina the finalist, while the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) is headquartered in Paraguay. CONMEBOL was the only continental confederation in existence at the time of the 1930 tournament.

After the first three matches, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and their three rivals will travel to Morocco, Spain and Portugal for the rest of the tournament.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has confirmed that the opening match will be played at Uruguay’s Estadio Centenario, the stadium that was built specifically for the 1930 tournament and hosted the final.

The opening ceremony will be held in Morocco, Portugal or Spain.

The 2030 tournament will witness Morocco hosting the World Cup for the first time, after making five unsuccessful attempts to host the 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2026 editions of the tournament. It will also be the first country to host World Cup matches in North Africa.

Morocco initially intended to submit a single bid before joining Spain and Portugal in March.

Portugal will also host for the first time, having made unsuccessful bids to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups alongside Spain, which hosted the 1982 edition. Portugal hosted UEFA Euro 2004, where they lost in the final.

Ukraine joined Spain and Portugal’s bid in October last year by offering to host some group stage matches, but their readiness for a major tournament was in doubt amid the ongoing war against Russia.

This will be the first time the World Cup has been held in six separate countries, and the 2026 tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States will be the only other edition to host more than two countries.

With the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) hosting the tournament in 2026 and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the Confederation of South America (CONMEBOL) and the European Football Association (UEFA) hosting the tournament in 2030, in line with its rotation policy, FIFA will look forward to welcoming With offers submitted by the Asian Confederation. Association Football Association (AFC) and Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the 2034 tournament.

Infantino said: “The FIFA Council unanimously agreed that the only bid to host the 2030 World Cup will be the joint bid of Morocco, Portugal and Spain.” “Two continents – Africa and Europe – have united not only in celebrating football but also in providing a 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 as they celebrate together the beautiful game, the Centenary and the FIFA World Cup.”

Alejandro Domínguez, President of CONMEBOL, 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 the same level. We appreciate once again the confidence shown by FIFA and its colleagues in this historic event.”

“The good thing is that with three countries and three hosts, we are talking about almost no other investment than there is already. This is very good news because we all know that in this context, unfortunately, we will not be able to compete if it comes to investment.” Or financial request.

“If this were a competition where our governments had to commit the money that countries today to be the host, I think that would be an irresponsible proposition on our part. And I think we wouldn’t have been able to do that because we know that there are other countries that have much better economic conditions and lower priorities than Our countries. So I think this is a very responsible and very viable proposal.

Is this a good move from FIFA?

Analysis by football correspondent Felipe Cardenas

Just when you think FIFA and the confederations’ decision-makers can’t outdo themselves, they do. The decision by FIFA to split the 2030 World Cup between six countries on two continents, and to do so under the guise of “uniting the world”, is laughable. Clearly, CONMEBOL was not in a position to host the 2030 tournament.

It was a romantic idea for the World Cup to return to Uruguay after 100 years, but infrastructure concerns made it impossible for Uruguay to host the expanded 48-team stadium. Did we really think Europe would allow FIFA to hold two consecutive World Cups in the Americas? FIFA sounds like the parent who needs a reward system to please two spoiled children.

Even the joint bid of the South American Football Confederation, with Argentina and Paraguay, was a haphazard attempt to make an unworkable offer appear official. Playing their opening matches in South America would give Uruguay and CONMEBOL their moment in 2030, albeit a short-lived one. It’s the easiest way to play the World Cup in Uruguay without showing the country’s inability to welcome the world.

Now FIFA, UEFA and CONMEBOL will try to reduce the obvious travel concerns that the transatlantic World Cup will undoubtedly cause. Having to endure a diluted 48-team World Cup was bad enough. But holding the World Cup on two continents is a bridge too far.

(Photo: Sebenem Coskun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)