FIFA 2030 show ode to South American nations

Article posted by Coliseum, October 5^th, 2023

Image: FIFA

The 2030 FIFA World Cup™ will be hosted in Morocco, Spain and Portugal.

‘AP’ stated that FIFA reached an agreement on October 4^th between soccer’s continental leaders to accept only one candidate for hosting the 2030 tournament, the sport’s governing body said.

‘AP’ further stated that a unique 2030 World Cup is set to be played in Europe and Africa with the surprising addition of South America in a deal to allow the men’s soccer tournament to start with a 100^th birthday party in Uruguay.

Apply for membership

‘FIFA’ stated that the first games of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will be hosted in their respective countries, and then these three countries will also head to Morocco, Spain and Portugal for the rest of the fixtures.

The Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA) is the international governing body of association football, beach soccer and futsal. It was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, its membership now comprises 211 national associations.

The 2030 FIFA World Cup™ will be the 24^th FIFA World Cup™, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the men’s national teams of the member-associations of FIFA. The 2030 World Cup will mark the centennial World Cup competition with the inaugural FIFA World Cup™ taking place in 1930 in Uruguay. For the first time, six countries from three continents will host the competition, with Spain, Portugal and Morocco as the host nations, and Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay serving as the nations that will open the event. It is scheduled to be held from June-July 2030.

‘FIFA’ further stated that following extensive consultations with all confederations and given the importance of marking the centenary of the FIFA World Cup™, the FIFA Council took key decisions in relation to the bidding and hosting of the centenary edition of the FIFA World Cup™ in 2030 during its meeting held by videoconference from the Home of FIFA in Zürich, Switzerland.

Zürich (Switzerland)-based the FIFA Council is an institution of FIFA. It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of FIFA Congress. Its members are elected by the FIFA Congress. The Council is a non-executive, supervisory and strategic body that sets the vision for FIFA and global football.

In 2030, the FIFA World Cup will unite three continents and six countries, inviting the entire world to join in the celebration of the beautiful game, the Centenary and the FIFA World Cup itself. The FIFA Council unanimously agreed that the sole candidacy will be the combined bid of Morocco, Portugal and Spain, which will host the event in 2030 and qualify automatically from the existing slot allocation subject to the completion of a successful bidding process conducted by FIFA and a decision by the FIFA Congress in 2024. Additionally, having taken into account the historical context of the first-ever FIFA World Cup™, the FIFA Council further unanimously agreed to host a unique centenary celebration ceremony in Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, where the first-ever FIFA World Cup™ took place in 1930, as well as three World Cup matches in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, respectively.

Asserted Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, “In a divided world, FIFA and football are uniting. The FIFA Council, representing the entire world of football, unanimously agreed to celebrate the centenary of the FIFA World Cup, whose first edition was played in Uruguay in 1930, in the most appropriate way. As a result, a celebration will take place in South America and three South American countries – Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay – will organize one match each of the FIFA World Cup 2030™. The first of these three matches will, of course, be played at the stadium where it all began, in Montevideo’s (Uruguay) mythical 60,235-capacity Estádio Centenário, precisely to celebrate the centenary edition of the FIFA World Cup.”

The FIFA President added, “The FIFA Council also agreed unanimously that the only bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2030™ will be the joint bid of Morocco, Portugal and Spain. Two continents – Africa and Europe – 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. In 2030, we will have a unique global footprint, three continents – Africa, Europe and South America – six countries – Argentina, Morocco, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain and Uruguay – welcoming and uniting the world while celebrating together the beautiful game, the centenary and the FIFA World Cup™.”

Launch of the Bidding Process for the FIFA World Cup 2034™

It was also agreed that in line with the principle of confederation rotation and of securing the best possible hosting conditions for the tournaments, the bidding processes for both the 2030 and 2034 editions be conducted concurrently, with the FIFA member- associations from the territories of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) invited to bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2034™. The minimum hosting requirements, as previously approved by the FIFA Council on June 23^th, 2023 in respect of the FIFA World Cup 2030™, will also form the basis of this bidding process, with the hosts to be appointed in a separate FIFA Congress.

Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, (Malaysia)-based the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach football and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia. It has 47 members.

Auckland (New Zealand)-based the Oceania Football Confederation is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with the FIFA.

The FIFA Council approved the Bidding Regulations for both editions of the FIFA World Cup™. Additional information is available in the Overview of the Bidding Processes document.

U-17 National Teams from Russia Suspension Lifted

Following the decision of the UEFA Executive Committee on September 26^th, 2023 to once again allow the participation of Russian representative youth teams at the U-17 girls and boys level, the FIFA Council approved an extension of this decision to the FIFA U-17 World Cup™ and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ for which UEFA’s competitions serve as a qualification pathway, thus lifting the suspension on teams from Russia taking part in these tournaments. This is conditional on these teams playing under the name of the ‘Football Union of Russia’ rather than ‘Russia’, in the absence of their national flag, their national anthem, their national-team kit and equipment, and instead playing in neutral colors.

The FIFA Council reiterated its condemnation of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine and confirmed that the remaining terms of the decision made on February 28^th, 2022 remain in force until the end of the conflict.

Launch of FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup™

The FIFA Council confirmed that the inaugural edition of the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup™ will take place in 2025 as a standalone tournament with 16 participating teams. The respective slot allocation will be as follows: AFC: 3, the Confederation of African Football (CAF): 2, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf): 2, South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL): 3, OFC: 1, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA): 4, Host Country: 1. Details on the tournament dates and the host country will follow in due course.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, futsal and beach soccer in Africa currently headquartered at the 6th of October City in Cairo, Egypt.

Miami (US)-based the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as Concacaf, is one of FIFA’s six continental governing bodies for association football.

The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA’s six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Paraguay, near Asunción.

Nyon (Switzerland)-based the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan, as well as some Asian countries such as Israel, Cyprus and Armenia. The UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.

Updates on FIFA Competitions

It was also confirmed that the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Colombia 2024™ will be enlarged from 16 to 24 teams and will take place from August 31^st to September 22^nd, 2024. The approved slot allocation will be as follows: AFC: 4, CAF: 4, Concacaf: 4, CONMEBOL: 4, OFC: 2, UEFA: 5, Host Country (Colombia): 1.

The FIFA Council also confirmed that the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Dominican Republic 2024™ will take place from October 16^th-November 3^rd, 2024 and the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Seychelles 2025™ from May 1^st-11^th, 2025.

New Appointment

The FIFA Council also approved the appointment of the FIFA Deputy Secretary General – Football, Mattias Grafström, as the FIFA Secretary General ad interim with immediate effect.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

Watch 250 member-exclusive videos with valuable tips for your venue