WORLD CUP: SIX COUNTRIES TO HOST 2030 TOURNAMENT
Read Time:1 Minute, 48 Second
World Cup 2030 is set to be held in six countries across three continents, while Saudi Arabia could be set to host the 2034 edition of the tournament.
Spain, Portugal and Morocco are on course to co-host the 2030 edition of the men’s tournament, with three South American nations – Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay – staging the opening matches to mark the tournament’s centenary.
Montevideo in Uruguay, the city which hosted the first World Cup finals match in 1930, is poised to stage the opening match in seven years’ time with games in Argentina and Paraguay to follow.
The rest of the 48-team tournament will then move to north Africa and Europe, under a proposal from UEFA, the Confederation of African Football and South American confederation CONMEBOL which was accepted by the FIFA council at a meeting on Wednesday.
The hosting arrangement is now subject to formal approval by FIFA’s congress.
Uruguay’s selection for 2030 is in recognition of their role as hosts and winners of the opening tournament, Argentina’s as runners-up in that tournament and Paraguay’s as the traditional home of CONMEBOL.
Those countries will qualify automatically for the finals and play their opening games on home soil.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino welcomed the news, saying: “In a divided world, FIFA and football are uniting.
“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.”
President of CONMEBOL Alejandro Dominguez said: “We aimed high and dreamed big.
“The 2030 Centenario World Cup starts where it all began. The host of the opening matches of the Centenario World Cup will be Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.”
However, the Football Supporters Europe group was deeply unimpressed by the arrangement.
It posted on X: “FIFA continues its cycle of destruction against the greatest tournament on earth.
“Horrendous for supporters, disregards the environment and rolls the red carpet out to a host for 2034 with an appalling human rights record. It’s the end of the World Cup as we know it.”
Happy
33 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
33 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
33 %
2
0