World Football governing body FIFA on Wednesday (October 4) announced it had reached an agreement to host the 2030 World Cup across three continents viz, South America, Africa and Europe.
While Morocco, Portugal and Spain will be the joint hosts for the marquee event, games will also be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. As a result, all six nations will automatically qualify for the World Cup.
“In 2030, the FIFA World Cup will unite three continents and six countries, inviting the entire world to join in the celebration of the beautiful game, the Centenary and the FIFA World Cup itself,” FIFA said in a statement.
FIFA said the World Cup matches were being held in South America as part of the centenary celebration of the first World Cup held in Uruguay. According to FIFA, the three South American nations will organise one match each with the first of the three matches taking place at the stadium where it all began – the mythical Estádio Centenário, located in the Uruguayan capital city of Montevideo.
“The centennial World Cup could not be far from South America, where everything began,” said Alejandro Dominguez, the president of South American soccer body CONMEBOL. “The 2030 World Cup will be played in three continents.”
Notably, the decision was made at a virtual meeting of the FIFA council. It will need to be confirmed in a vote with all 211 FIFA members present at an event, likely to take place before the next FIFA congress in Bangkok in 2024.
WC will unite a divided world: FIFA
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the muti-continent World Cup will unite a divided world.
“In a divided world, FIFA and football are uniting. he FIFA Council, representing the entire world of football, unanimously agreed to celebrate the centenary of the FIFA World Cup, whose first edition was played in Uruguay in 1930, in the most appropriate way,” said Infantino.
The decision also closes months of speculation and jostling among the continental confederations who were vying to receive the right to play host.
Additionally, FIFA said the 2034 World Cup will be staged in a host country (or countries) represented by the Asian or Oceania confederations. According to football pundits, it means a bid from Saudi Arabia is highly likely and a repeat of the Winter World Cup that took place in Qatar last year might be on the cards.
Apart from the kingdom, Australia is expected to put in its bid, perhaps alongside Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country.