FIFA announces 2030 World Cup to be held in 6 countries across 3 continents

ZURICH – The 2030 World Cup will be held across six countries in three continents, FIFA has confirmed.

Spain, Portugal and Morocco have been named as the co-hosts, with the opening three matches taking place in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.

The opening matches in South America are to mark the World Cup’s centenary as it will be 100 years since the inaugural tournament in Montevideo.

The decision is set to be ratified at a FIFA congress next year, reported the BBC.

FIFA also confirmed only bids from countries from the Asian Football Confederation and the Oceania Football Confederation would be considered for the 2034 finals.

Following that decision, Saudi Arabia announced it would be bidding to host the tournament in 2034 for the first time.

The deadline for prospective hosts to submit confirmations of interest is October 31, 2023.

FIFA’s decision to host the 2030 tournament across multiple continents had drawn criticism, with one supporter’s body accusing football’s world governing body of engaging in a “cycle of destruction against the greatest tournament on Earth”.

FIFA’s decision to host the tournament across multiple continents comes after the governing body ‘made false statements’ about the reduced environmental impact of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

FIFA said the tournament would be the first “fully carbon-neutral World Cup” but could not provide proof the claims were accurate.

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