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Morocco, Spain and Portugal will be the joint hosts of the 2030 World Cup – but Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay are also set to hold some matches.
A South American bid was put forward to host the entire competition in seven years time to mark the centenary of the first ever tournament, which was held in Uruguay. While FIFA have opted to not grant the complete hosting rights to South America, they have reportedly awarded the opening three games of the competition to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
This is believed to be part of the tournament's 100th anniversary. It will also mean all six countries will automatically qualify for the competition. While the first three matches will be held in South America, the opening ceremony of the tournament will still take place in Morocco, Portugal or Spain.
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As well as hosting the first ever competition in 1930, Uruguay also went on to win the competition by beating Argentina in the final. At the time, CONMEBOL, the South American Football Confederation, had their headquarters based in Paraguay.
CONMEBOL was also the only confederation in existence at the time. When the first three matches are played, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and their opponents will then fly to Morocco, Portugal or Spain for the rest of the tournament.
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The 2030 competition will be the first time Portugal has hosted the World Cup and the second time an African country has held the competition since South Africa in 2020.
Portugal launched unsuccessful bids to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups alongside Spain, who have not played hosts of football's elite international competition since 1982. When a ball is first kicked in 2030, it will also be the first time a competition has been held across six countries in its history.
โThe FIFA Council agreed unanimously that the only bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2030 will be the joint bid of Morocco, Portugal and Spain,โ President of FIFA Gianni Infantino said. โTwo continents โ Africa and Europe โ united not only in a celebration of football but also in providing unique social and cultural cohesion. What a great message of peace, tolerance and inclusion.
โIn 2030, we will have a unique global footprint, three continents โ Africa, Europe and South America โ six countries โ Argentina, Morocco, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain and Uruguay โ welcoming and uniting the world while celebrating together the beautiful game, the centenary and the FIFA World Cup.โ
- World Cup
- FIFA
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