On Wednesday, October 4, the president of South American football, Alejandro Dominguez, surprised the world announcing that Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will host the first matches of the 2030 World Cup. And with that came the question: Where will the tournament continue? FIFA, minutes later, confirmed what had been an open secret. Spain, Portugal and Morocco will host the World Cup in a tournament that promises to be historic.

“Two continents – Africa and Europe – united not only in a celebration of football, but also to offer a unique social and cultural cohesion. What a great message of peace, tolerance and inclusion. In 2030, we will have a unique global footprint, three continents – Africa, Europe and South America -, six countries – Argentina, Morocco, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain and Uruguay – welcome and unite the world as we celebrate together the beautiful game, the centenary and the FIFA World Cup.” emphasized the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino.

Next, Sports news shows all the details.

2030 World Cup in Spain, Portugal and Morocco: FIFA announces venues for historic tournament

In 2002, FIFA decided that for the first time a World Cup would be held in two venues: Japan and South Korea were awarded the championship which was eventually won by Brazil. In 2026 the multi-site program will be repeated with Mexico, the United States and Canada, and four years later it will continue on this path. But in an even more global way: six official headquarters on three continents. Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will receive their first group matches, while the rest of the tournament will be played in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

It is worth noting that the 2030 tournament will be the second to be held in the 48-team format after leaving behind the 32-team format. Given so many teams and countries, it stands to reason that single-country World Cups will be forgotten.

The decision, as reported by FIFA, was unanimous as there was no contest. Conmebol was content to take only three games, although Alejandro Domínguez assured that efforts would be made to include Chile, a country that was part of the original plan. The economic difficulties of the region played a decisive role in this result.

“THE CENTENNIAL IS THE MOST IMPOSSIBLE STAGE THE WORLD HAS,” said Alejandro Dominguez.

📺 #ESPNenStarPlus pic.twitter.com/kG0pFrR5kK

— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) October 4, 2023

Which venues and stadiums will host the 2030 World Cup?

Although it is too early to set details for a tournament that is seven years away, it is clear that Spain will take on the role of grand organizer of the six selected nations. Rumor has it that there will be 11 Spanish stadiums chosen from a list of 15 pre-selected stadiums. Meanwhile, three Portuguese stadiums will be included and an unspecified number of Moroccan stadiums will be selected.

Spain has already hosted one World Cup, in 1982, in which Italy won. That tournament was played across 17 stages in 14 cities. Those selected were: José Rico Pérez Stadium (Alicante), Camp Nou (Barcelona), Sarriá Stadium (Barcelona), San Mamés (Bilbao), La Rosaleda Stadium (Málaga), Riazor Stadium (La Coruña), El Molinón Stadium (Gijón ), Nuevo Estadio (Elche), Carlos Tartiere Stadium (Oviedo), Luis Casanova Stadium (Valencia), Vicente Calderón Stadium (Madrid), Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (Madrid), Nuevo José Zorrilla (Valladolid), Ramón Sánchez Piz) Benito Villamarín Stadium (Seville), Balaídos (Vigo) and La Romareda Stadium (Zaragoza).

Portugal, meanwhile, hosted Euro 2004 in 10 stadiums in 8 cities. These were the following: Estádio Municipal de Aveiro (Aveiro), Estádio Municipal de Braga (Braga), Estádio Cidade de Coimbra (Coimbra), Estadio Algarve (Faro-Loulé), Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques (Guimarães), Estádio Leasoalís. ), Estádio da Luz (Lisbon), Estádio José Alvalade (Lisbon), Estádio do Bessa XXI (Porto) and Estádio do Dragão (Porto).

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FIFA Council makes key decisions on 2030 and 2034 editions of FIFA World Cup™: Joint bid by Morocco, Portugal and Spain is the only candidate to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup™
➡️https://t.co/cKJec1tIE4 pic.twitter.com/mwLRerCIlg

— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) October 4, 2023

More likely, Morocco, a country with little footballing tradition beyond its very good showing at the 2022 World Cup, will no longer have two venues. Surely these will be the ones that hosted the Club World Cups in 2013 and 2014: Marrakesh Stadium (Marrakesh) and Moulay Abdellah Stadium (Rabat).

Below is the list of possible stadiums to participate in the 2030 World Cup:

Spain: Camp Nou (Barcelona), Olympic Lluís Companys (Barcelona), San Mamés (Bilbao), La Rosaleda Stadium (Malaga), Mestalla Stadium (Valencia), Metropolitano Stadium (Madrid), Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (Madrid), Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Seville) , Benito Villamarín Stadium (Seville), La Cartuja (Seville), Balaídos (Vigo) and La Romareda Stadium (Zaragoza),

Portugal: Estádio da Luz (Lisbon), Estádio José Alvalade (Lisbon) and Estádio do Dragão (Porto)

Morocco: Marrakesh Stadium (Marrakech) and Moulay Abdellah Stadium (Rabat)

Argentina: Monumental (Buenos Aires)

Uruguay: Centenario Stadium (Montevideo)

Paraguay: Defensores del Chaco Stadium (Asunción)

Which countries qualify for the 2030 World Cup?

Unless FIFA changes its regulations, every team that has hosted a tournament has always been present in that league because there are already six countries that have qualified for the 2030 World Cup. These are Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

It is worth noting that from the 2026 World Cup, the tournament no longer has 32 participants but rather 48. This new format will be presented in Mexico, the United States and Canada.