FIFA World Cup 2030 to Span Six Nations Across Three Continents

The FIFA Council has made crucial decisions regarding the bid and organization of the milestone 2030 FIFA World Cup. As a result, the 2030 World Cup will span three continents across six countries, according to a statement from FIFA's press office.

The FIFA Council unanimously decided that the only candidate to host the tournament will be the joint bid of Morocco, Portugal, and Spain. These countries will host the 2030 World Cup and automatically gain the right to host it, subject to the successful completion of the tendering process conducted by FIFA and the decision of the FIFA Congress in 2024. Ukraine, which had previously expressed its intent to join this bid, will not be among the tournament hosts.

FIFA has also decided to celebrate the centenary of the tournament, which first took place in 1930 in Uruguay, in South America. Specifically, three South American countries—Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay—will organize one match each of the 2030 FIFA World Cup. The first of these three matches will be played at the stadium where it all began, the "Estadio Centenario" in Montevideo, in honor of the centennial celebration of the World Cup.

"In 2030, we will have a unique global footprint, with three continents—Africa, Europe, and South America—six countries—Argentina, Morocco, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, and Uruguay—welcoming and uniting the world, celebrating the beautiful game, the centenary, and the FIFA World Cup," stated FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Furthermore, the meeting also decided that in accordance with the principle of confederation rotation and ensuring the best possible conditions for hosting tournaments, the tender processes for hosting the 2030 and 2034 World Cups will be conducted simultaneously. FIFA member associations from the Asian and Oceanian territories will be invited to participate in the tender for hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup. The minimum requirements for hosting the World Cup, previously approved by the FIFA Council on June 23, 2023, for the 2030 World Cup, will also form the basis of this tender process, and the hosts will be appointed at a separate FIFA Congress.

One of the controversial decisions of the FIFA Council was to allow the participation of the Russian U-17 national team in the competition. This decision was made following UEFA's lead. The Russian team will be allowed to compete without a flag, anthem, and in neutral colors. This decision was made despite Russia's ongoing aggressive war in Ukraine, targeting civilian infrastructure and causing mass casualties, including children, as in the recent attack on the village of Hroza on October 5th.