FIFA 2030 World Cup: Morocco, Spain, Portugal secure joint hosting rights

The 2030 FIFA World Cup will see teams compete across three continents as Morocco, Portugal, and Spain secure a bid to host the 48 teams.

Meanwhile, the world football governing body also noted that the opening three matches of the tournament will be played in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay.

These decisions were reached during a virtual meeting of the FIFA council but will be confirmed through a vote involving all 211 FIFA member countries towards the end of next year.

This multi-continental move is a distinction from the previous World Cups, which have always been hosted on a single continent, the most recent being Qatar 2022.

The current arrangement by FIFA will now be followed by preparations and political negotiations between continental confederations.

The initial plan was to have Ukraine participate in the hosting, but the recent conflict between the country and Russia forced FIFA to reconsider its options.

Rival bids were also expected from South America, where Uruguay and Argentina, alongside Chile and Paraguay, were hoping to form a coalition. Another was in the works, pairing Greece with Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

While the UEFA/CAF bid was favoured for 2030, Conmebol, the South American confederation, sought to commemorate the centenary of the first World Cup held in Uruguay in 1930, this is why the first three games of the tournament will be played on the content.