What to know about the FIFA 2030 World Cup announcement

Morocco, Portugal and Spain will be hosts for the 2030 FIFA World Cup while Saudi Arabia will bid to host in 2034.

A man is silhouetted as he makes his way past the main entrance of FIFA headquarters.
The first three games of the 2030 tournament will be held in South America to mark its 100th anniversary [File: Christian Hartmann/Reuters]

FIFA and global football leaders reached an agreement on Wednesday to make World Cup 2030 the first to be held across three continents and six countries.

Among the key considerations was finding a way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the World Cup in Uruguay, where the inaugural tourney final was held in 1930.

Here’s a quick look at what to know about the 2030 World Cup announcement and other upcoming tournaments:

What countries have been chosen to host the 2030 World Cup?

  • Morocco, Portugal and Spain will be joint hosts for the 2030 World Cup, but games will also be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
  • Initially, Spain and Portugal had included Ukraine in their bid, saying they wanted to send “a message of solidarity and hope”. Morocco joined the bid in mid-March.
  • While this is the first time Morocco and Portugal will host the FIFA World Cup, Spain previously hosted the tournament in 1982.
  • Morocco will be the second African country to host the World Cup after South Africa in 2010.
  • Uruguay was the inaugural host for the first FIFA games and Argentina hosted the World Cup in 1978.
  • “In a divided world, FIFA and football are uniting,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

What countries will host the World Cup in 2026?

What do we know about the 2034 World Cup?

  • FIFA has launched its bidding process for the 2034 World Cup, inviting Asian and Oceanian continental confederations.
  • Saudi Arabia has announced its intention to bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies