The World Cup will be played in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with the exception of the first three matches which will be held in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
On Wednesday, October 4, 2023, FIFA awarded the organization of the 2030 World Cup to the candidacy consisting of Spain, Portugal and Morocco. However, the first three matches of the tournament will be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay as a symbolic nod to CONMEBOL and the first FIFA World Cup, held in 1930 on Uruguayan soil.
During last Wednesday’s Council, FIFA decided to announce that the Spanish-led bid will be the only one to participate in the 2030 World Cup. President Infantino’s announcement will now be transferred to the FIFA Congress, the body responsible for remove the burden of formality of ratifying the Council decision. This extraordinary congress is scheduled for December 2024. In this way, 48 years later, Spain will again host a Football World Cup, with 1982 being the last and only time this happened.
On October 4, 2023, CONMEBOL President Alejandro Domínguez announced on his social networks that the 2030 World Cup will start in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
Later, FIFA confirmed that Spain, Morocco and Portugal will host the World Cup. “The FIFA Council takes important decisions on the 2030 and 2034 editions of the FIFA World Cup™: the joint bid of Morocco, Portugal and Spain is the only candidate to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup,” the statement said .
It is worth remembering that last March Spain and Portugal followed the path that both set out to the world 2030, to Morocco. The RFEF subsequently issued a statement confirming that the African country would also join the bid of neighboring countries to host the intercontinental tournament.
Venues, stadiums and cities
Months ago, the RFEF had made public the Spanish stadiums that were candidates for the 2030 World Cup. The Federation chose a total of 15 fields spread across 13 different cities. Madrid and Barcelona are the only two cities that have two candidates: while the Santiago Bernabéu and the Metropolitano appear in the capital, in Barcelona there are the RCDE Stadium and the Camp Nou. One of the surprises was that the Nueva Condomina de Murcia served as its headquarters. Also included is the New Mestalla, where work recently resumed after a 13-year hiatus and which doesn’t even have an opening date yet.
Among the absences there are also surprises. Neither the Benito Villamarín nor the Sánchez-Pizjuán are among those elected, the former being the fourth with the largest capacity in the country. This also applies to Martínez-Valero in Elche, where Spain and many other teams have played international matches in recent years because of the capacity and comfort it offers. In Asturias, El Molinón has arrived, but Carlos Tatiere has not, despite the latter having slightly more capacity.
Source: Goal