Morocco, Portugal, Spain to host 2030 World Cup, 3 games in South America

Morocco, Portugal, and Spain won a joint bid to host the 2030 men’s World Cup on Wednesday, with governing body FIFA awarding three of the tournament’s opening games to Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay to commemorate the 100th anniversary of soccer’s most prestigious event.

It’ll be the first World Cup hosted on multiple continents.

All six countries will automatically qualify for the 2030 edition, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the first of the three matches in South America will take place in Montevideo’s Estadio Centenario, which hosted the majority of the matches during the first-ever World Cup in 1930.

Uruguay won the inaugural World Cup, beating Argentina 4-2 in the final.

Paraguay is home to CONMEBOL’s headquarters. Founded in 1916, it’s the oldest continental soccer association in the world.

“We aimed high and dreamed big. The 2030 Centenario World Cup starts where it all began,” CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

After hosting their opening matches, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay will play the remainder of their games in Morocco, Spain, and Portugal, according to Ornstein.

Morocco will become the first North African country to host World Cup matches and just the second from the continent after South Africa in 2010.

Spain last hosted the World Cup in 1982, which Italy won after beating West Germany in the final.

Portugal has never hosted a World Cup match before. The country reached the final of Euro 2004 as host nation before losing to Greece.

The 2030 World Cup will build on the momentum of the 2026 tournament, which will be played across 16 cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The 2026 edition will be the first to have 48 teams, up from the 32 that have contested each of the last six World Cups.