The 2030 FIFA World Cup will make history as the first edition of the tournament to be staged across six countries on three continents, following the appointment of Morocco, Portugal and Spain as hosts and special centenary matches in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, FIFA announced.
The tournament hosts were officially confirmed after all 211 FIFA Member Associations approved the proposal during an Extraordinary FIFA Congress in December 2024, marking the conclusion of a bidding process launched in October 2023.
Morocco, Portugal and Spain will jointly stage the bulk of the expanded 48-team tournament, hosting all but three of the competition’s 101 matches. Meanwhile, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will each host one match to commemorate the centenary of the FIFA World Cup, which was first played in Uruguay in 1930.
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According to FIFA, the decision recognizes the tournament’s origins while celebrating a century of football’s biggest international competition, since 2030 is a symbolic milestone for FIFA. Uruguay will stage the official centenary celebration and ceremony in Montevideo, honoring its role as host and inaugural champion in 1930. Argentina will host a match in recognition of reaching the first World Cup final, while Paraguay was selected as the home of CONMEBOL, the oldest continental football confederation.
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FIFA said the joint proposal was developed with the support of the Confederations of CAF (Confederation of African Football), CONMEBOL (Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol) and UEFA (Union of European Football Associations), and was approved following a technical evaluation to ensure all host nations met the governing body’s minimum hosting requirements.
The six-country format represents an unprecedented milestone in World Cup history and reflects FIFA’s aim of balancing geographical rotation while honoring the tournament’s heritage. FIFA also confirmed Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 FIFA World Cup, completing the selection process for the next two editions of football’s biggest event.