Portugal, Morocco, and Spain are the countries to jointly host the 2030 World Cup tournament. Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will also stage the opening matches to mark the tournament’s centenary.

Portugal has never staged the prestigious World Cup, but hosted the UEFA European Championship in 2004, and qualified for the final phase of the FIFA World Cup on eight occasions: in 1966, 1986, 2002 and every final phase held since. Their best performance was third place in 1966 and finishing fourth in 2006.

The FIFA Council, representing the entire world of football, unanimously agreed on Wednesday to celebrate the FIFA World Cup centenary, whose first edition was played in Uruguay in 1930.

“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 stated.

The first of these three matches will be played at the stadium where it all began, in Montevideo’s mythical Estádio Centenário, precisely the centenary of the FIFA World Cup 2023.

As a formality, the FIFA Council’s acceptance of a unified 2030 candidacy still needs formal approval next year at a meeting of the 211 member federations.

The 48-team, 104-game tournament, is scheduled for June-July, starting in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay before the action moves to Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

After announcing that the World Cup 2030 will be played in Portugal, Spain and Morocco, FIFA opened the candidacy process for hosting the World Cup 2034, to members from Asia and Oceania.

The 2022 World Cup tournament was held in Qatar, for the time in the Middle East and will be hosted in 2026 by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

South America has hosted the quadrennial event five times: Uruguay (1930), Brazil (1950), Chile (1962), Argentina (1978), and Brazil (2014).

The FIFA World Cup championship is one of the most prestigious tournaments in all of sports.

PAJ.Staff