Tomorrow (11 December), FIFA will officially confirm the hosts for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups. Spain, Portugal, and Morocco—along with matches in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay to commemorate the centenary of the first-ever tournament—will host the 2030 event, while Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 tournament, as they are the sole bidders.
If this dual decision is put to a vote during the FIFA Congress, which will be conducted via videoconference, any suspense has already vanished since the two bids became the only contenders last year.
Withdrawals that cleared the path
The 2030 World Cup, marking a century since the first tournament in Uruguay in 1930, resulted from an unprecedented agreement between confederations.
The United Kingdom had initially shown interest before shifting focus to Euro 2028. South Korea briefly explored a joint bid with China, Japan, and North Korea, while four South American nations initiated their bid in 2019. UEFA, meanwhile, proposed a “marriage” of Spain, Portugal, and Ukraine in late 2022 as a “message of solidarity and hope” following the Russian invasion.
However, last year, Ukraine discreetly withdrew when Morocco joined the Spain-Portugal bid. Subsequently, South America stepped back in exchange for symbolic inclusion, with the tournament’s first three matches scheduled to be played in Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Following these “centenary celebrations,” planned for 8 and 9 June 2030 during the southern hemisphere’s winter, the six involved teams and their supporters will need to cross the Atlantic for the remaining 101 matches, to be played from 13 June to the final on 21 July.
The final showdown
With 11 of the 20 proposed stadiums, Spain is expected to be the primary host, having previously hosted the 1982 World Cup. Morocco, having unsuccessfully bid five times, will become the second African country to host the tournament, following South Africa in 2010.
Spain and Morocco are competing to host the final, with Spain offering either the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid or Camp Nou in Barcelona, and Morocco proposing the future Hassan II Stadium, between Casablanca and Rabat, which aims to become the world’s largest stadium with a capacity of 115,000.
Portugal, which hosted Euro 2004 but has never co-hosted a World Cup, offers two stadiums in Lisbon and one in Porto and is vying for one of the semi-finals.
Saudi Arabia
Invoking the principle of continental rotation, FIFA restricted bids for the 2034 tournament to the Asian and Oceanian confederations, a process launched in autumn 2023.
Saudi Arabia, an emerging powerhouse in global sport, became the sole bidder following the withdrawal of Australia and Indonesia and the retreat of China’s footballing ambitions.
Currently, the Gulf kingdom has just two of the 14 stadiums with a capacity of at least 40,000 required to host the 48-team tournament. Beyond the logistical challenges, the scorching summer heat may force the event to shift to winter or late autumn, as with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, this would coincide with Ramadan, which will occur from 11 November to 10 December that year.
Concerns and criticism
The planned announcements have drawn criticism from Amnesty International and the Sports and Rights Alliance (SRA), which called on FIFA on 11 November to “suspend the bidding process.”
Concerns focus on the exploitation of migrant workers, who will be mobilised on a large scale to upgrade infrastructure, as well as potential displacement of residents and discrimination affecting fans.
Human rights concerns also extend to the 2030 tournament. Amnesty International and the SRA have called for a credible strategy “to protect players and fans from discriminatory abuses, prevent excessive use of police force, and safeguard residents’ housing rights.”
In early September, Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior suggested the tournament should be awarded to a country other than Spain if racism in its stadiums is not tackled.
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Source: A. Vazogiannis – ANA-MPA
