The overall plan for hosting the 2030 World Cup involves three nations sharing duties while three matches will take place in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay, the countries that originally co-founded the bid.
Spain, Portugal and Morocco have achieved their objective of organizing the 2030 World Cup, a decision FIFA has officially confirmed. The joint bid will see the tournament staged across Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, with the opening matches allocated to the South American trio of Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay as part of the agreement that formed the broader candidacy.
The bid stands as a historic milestone in world football, marking the first time a men’s World Cup would be hosted across two continents. The collaboration among Spain, Portugal, and Morocco highlights strong ties across Europe and Africa and underlines the Mediterranean region as a focal point for sport, culture, and development. This shared project aspires to inspire countless young athletes on both continents by showcasing how football can contribute to sporting growth and social progress in the region.
It should be noted that the candidacy was officially presented on June 4, 2021 by the football federations of Spain and Portugal in a formal event attended by King Felipe VI, the President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and the leaders of both governments, Pedro Sánchez and Antonio Costa. Morocco joined the process shortly thereafter, strengthening the three-way collaboration.
Rival candidacies
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The 2030 World Cup marks the centenary of the sport’s premier national team competition. Beyond the Spain-Portugal-Morocco bid, another track involved a joint proposal from Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile. While the South American plan included three host locations, Chile was ultimately ruled out as an option.
Morocco also pursued its own bid route, aiming to host the tournament independently, a dream it had hoped to realize for 2026 before that edition settled for Mexico, the United States and Canada. In the end, Morocco joined forces with Portugal and Spain in this continental collaboration.
England considered presenting a candidacy as well, but by early 2022 that idea was abandoned, leaving the European delegation as a two-country group comprised of Spain and Portugal, nations that already organized the 2018 edition in the country but will not host in 2022 in Qatar or in 2026 in the United States and Mexico. The European effort thus centered on the Iberian pair with broader cross-continental reach.
Key dates and when the headquarters and the winning candidacy will be chosen
FIFA began the formal validation process for the various applications in 2022. The final decision on the host country or countries took shape after a thorough assessment by a committee of experts who visited facilities and analyzed the capacity of each site to support a modern World Cup. The official verdict was delivered on October 4, 2023.
Stadiums and cities that could host
The Royal Spanish Football Federation has published a list of stadiums under consideration to host the 2030 World Cup. A total of 15 venues have been identified, spanning 13 cities across the country. Madrid and Barcelona stand out with two candidate venues each: the Santiago Bernabéu and the Metropolitano in Madrid, while Barcelona features the Camp Nou and RCDE Stadium. Notably, the Nueva Condomima in Murcia has been named as a potential headquarters, and the New Mestalla in Valencia has seen resumed work after a long pause, though an opening date remains uncertain.
Some venues did not make the cut. Notable omissions include the Benito Villamarín and the Sánchez-Pizjuán, which remain among the larger capacity stadiums yet were not selected. The Martínez-Valero in Elche also lost out, despite its international appeal, and in Asturias, El Molinón earned a position while Carlos Tartiere did not, even though it carries a slightly larger capacity in some calculations.
The list of candidate venues includes:
- Balaidos (Vigo)
- Riazor (A Coruna)
- El Molinón Enrique Castro Quini (Gijón)
- San Mames (Bilbao)
- Anoeta (San Sebastian)
- La Romareda (Zaragoza)
- Camp Nou (Barcelona)
- RCDE Stadium (Barcelona)
- Metropolitano (Madrid)
- Santiago Bernabeu (Madrid)
- New Mestalla (Valencia)
- New Condomina (Murcia)
- La Cartuja (Seville)
- La Rosaleda (Malaga)
- Gran Canaria Stadium (Las Palmas)