2023-10-04 16:35:28
The 2030 World Cup will open in South America and then be held in Morocco, Spain and Portugal. The world association FIFA announced this on Wednesday following a meeting of the FIFA Council. This means that the World Cup will take place on three continents for the first time. The opening game is scheduled to take place in Uruguay, with two further games in Argentina and Paraguay. With this, FIFA also wants to honor the anniversary of the tournament. The first World Cup took place in Uruguay in 1930.
The three South American countries originally wanted to hold the tournament in its entirety, but FIFA rejected this. After the three games, the tournament continues with 48 nations in Morocco, Spain and Portugal. All six teams are automatically qualified for the final round. An anniversary celebration will also take place in Montevideo, the capital of the first World Cup host Uruguay. Madrid’s Estadio Bernabeu is considered a potential 2030 World Cup final stadium.
FIFA’s announcement came as a surprise. The tournament was actually not supposed to be awarded until 2024 at the 74th FIFA Congress. The decision will now only be officially approved there. This means that World Cup games will take place in North Africa, Portugal and Paraguay for the first time. Uruguay hosted the first edition in 1930, Argentina hosted the World Cup in 1978 and Spain hosted the World Cup in 1982.
“In a divided world, FIFA and football unite,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The 100th anniversary of the World Cup should be celebrated in the most appropriate way. “The first of these three games will of course be played in the stadium where it all began, in the mythical Estádio Centenário of Montevideo,” Infantino said.
After the announcement, the designated three main organizers of the 2030 World Cup promised “the best World Cup in history”. “We are ready to organize the best World Cup in history,” is the headline of a message published on the portal of the Spanish Football Association RFEF, among others. FIFA’s decision shows confidence “in the work done as well as in the capacity and professionalism” that the three countries have “demonstrated in planning events of this magnitude.”
RFEF interim president Pedro Rocha, who recently replaced Luis Rubiales, who resigned in the wake of the kissing scandal at the Women’s World Cup, said they were “thrilled” to be bringing a World Cup to Spain once more following almost 50 years. “I am sure that together with Morocco and Portugal we will organize the best World Cup in history,” he emphasized.
The Spanish federation also quoted the president of the Portuguese federation FPF, Fernando Gomes, as saying: “Each of our countries brings with them a living football tradition, an unparalleled organizational experience and a capacity for innovation that will undoubtedly shape the future of the competition.”
The Moroccan association boss Fouzi Lekjaa speaks in the RFEF statement of an “important moment in the history of Morocco” and a “great achievement under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.” They want to “make history” together with Spain and Portugal and raise the level of organization of the World Cup “to a new level”.
There was also jubilation in Uruguay. “Uruguayan Champions! After 100 years, the world will once once more look to Uruguay and our Centenario at the opening of the 2030 World Cup. This recognition does justice to those pioneers who made football history,” wrote Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou on X (formerly Twitter) .
But not everyone was euphoric. “FIFA continues its vicious cycle of destruction once morest the biggest tournament in the world,” said the European Football Fans Association FSE on X. The tournament is terrible for the fans, disrespects the environment and probably rolls out the red carpet for Saudi Arabia as host in 2034 with an appalling human rights record. “It’s the end of the World Cup as we know it.”
The 2026 World Cup will be played in the USA, Mexico and Canada. According to a FIFA announcement, only representatives from Asia and Oceania should apply for the 2034 World Cup. According to various media reports, Saudi Arabia should have the best chances – in this case there would be a Winter World Cup like in Qatar in 2022 – and Australia can also have hopes. Saudi Arabia announced its candidacy for 2034 on Wednesday followingnoon, as reported by the Saudi news agency SPA.
Aside from the awarding of the World Cup, the FIFA Council made another groundbreaking decision. From now on, Russian U17 teams are once more admitted to world association tournaments – however, they will not play in their national team uniforms, but in neutral colors, and the Russian flag will not be visible and the anthem will not be heard.
UEFA had already made a similar decision the previous week, which meant that it wasn’t just Ukraine that was snubbed. England, Norway, Sweden and Denmark announced that they would not let their teams compete once morest those from Russia. After the start of the war of aggression once morest Ukraine, Russia was excluded from the major international football associations.
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