World 2030: Portugal, Spain and Morocco.
The 2030 World Football Championship will be organized by Portugal, Spain and Morocco, FIFA announced today, after the body's Council meeting.
“The FIFA Council unanimously decided that the only eligible candidacy is the joint one between Morocco, Portugal and Spain that will organize the competition in 2030”.
FIFA refers in a statement published on the official website, and the decision will be made official at the organization's Extraordinary Congress, in 2024.
In the same note, FIFA also revealed that Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will host three games at the 2030 World Cup, as a way of “celebrate the centenary” of the competition, whose first edition took place in Uruguay, in 1930.
“Furthermore, taking into account the historical context of the first World Cup ever, the FIFA Council unanimously agreed to hold a unique centenary celebration ceremony in the country's capital [Uruguay], in Montevideo, where the first World Cup ever, in 1930, as well as awarding three World Cup games to Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay”, says FIFA.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino considered that football and the organization it leads are “unite a divided world”, highlighting:
“Two continents – Africa and Europe – united not only in celebrating football, but also in providing unique social and cultural cohesion. What a great message of peace, tolerance and inclusion.”
Infantino also highlighted the centenary of the World Cup, which will be celebrated precisely in 2030, which is why three matches of the competition will take place in three South American countries, in this case Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
“As a result, the celebration will take place in South America and three South American countries – Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay – will host one game each of the 2030 World Cup.”
“The first of these three games will, obviously, be held in the stadium where it all began, in Montevideo, in the mythical Centenario Stadium, precisely to celebrate the centenary edition of the World Cup”, explained Infantino.
The 2030 World Cup will be the first to be played in six different countries, and the previous edition, in 2026, will also be the first to be organized by three countries, in this case Canada, Mexico and the United States of America.
Until now, the only joint organization of a World Cup had been carried out by South Korea and Japan, in 2002.
The Iberian candidacy began in October 2020, and two years later it was extended to Ukraine, after the Russian invasion and, last March, to Morocco, with the Ukrainian exit never being made official.
Portugal makes its debut in the World Cup, after having hosted Euro2004, while Spain organized Euro1964 and the World Cup 1982, and Morocco has already hosted the African Cup of Nations (CAN) in 1988.
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Picture: © 2023 DR
