FIFA show fixtures in Portugal ‘Big 3’ digs

Article posted by Coliseum, March 25^th, 2024

Image: Estádio do Dragão, Cédric23170, CC BY-SA 4.0

The three top-of-the-heap clubs of Portugal – S.L. Benfica, FC Porto and Sporting CP’s home stadiums have been selected to host the 2030 World Cup matches.

‘PORTUGAL resident’ stated that the Estádio da Luz, home of the S.L. Benfica, the Estádio do Dragão, the home arena of the FC Porto and the José Alvalade Stadium, the home pitch of the Sporting CP – have been confirmed as the Portugal venues for the 2030 FIFA World Cup™.

The Sport Lisboa e Benfica, commonly known as the Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football, where they are the current champions.

Apply for membership

The 65,000-capacity Estádio da Luz, officially named the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multipurpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of the Portuguese club Benfica, the venue’s owner.

The FC Porto, or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto, Portugal. It plays in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football.

The Estádio do Dragão is an all-seater football stadium in Porto, Portugal, and the home ground of the FC Porto since 2003. It has a seating capacity of 50,033, making it the third largest football stadium in Portugal.

The Sporting CP, or simply Sporting, is a Portuguese sports club based in Lisbon, Portugal. It plays in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football.

The 50,095-capacity José Alvalade Stadium is a football stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, home of the Sporting CP. It was built adjacent to the site of the older stadium. The stadium is named after José Alvalade (1885-1918), the founder and first club member of Sporting CP in the early 20th century.

The 2030 FIFA World Cup™ will be the 24th 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. For the first time, three countries from two continents will host the competition, with Spain, Portugal and Morocco as the host nations. Additionally, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will serve as nations that commemorate the 100th anniversary of the FIFA World Cup™ in particular the first World Cup in Uruguay. The first game, alongside a special centenary celebration, will be held in the 60,235-capacity Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay. The second and third games will be held in Argentina and Paraguay, respectively. The rest of the games and the Opening Ceremony will be held in Morocco, Portugal and Spain. This will be the first World Cup held in Africa since 2010, in South America since 2014, as well as in Europe since 2018.

‘PORTUGAL resident’ further stated that the above announcement was made recently by Fernando Gomes, President of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), at a function held at the Cidade do Futebol (City of Football) in Oeiras, Portugal.

The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) is the governing body of football in Portugal. The federation was formed in 1914 as the Portuguese Football Union by the three existing regional associations of Lisbon, Portalegre and Porto, before adopting its current name in 1926, and is based in the City of Oeiras.

In his speech, Gomes thanked Benfica, FC Porto and Sporting for making their stadiums available for the World Cup, as well as the Municipal Councils of Porto and Lisbon.

Stated the FPF boss, “Without the above three venues, and the other supporting entities and infrastructures, it would not have been possible to host the soccer extraordinaire.”

The above three venues were the hot favorites to host the 2030 World Cup matches from the very beginning given that they are the biggest national stadia, with the Estádio da Luz’s capacity at 65,000, followed by Estádio do Dragão and Estádio de Alvalade capacity at 50,000 each. All the other stadiums built specifically for the EURO 2004, which Portugal hosted, are limited to around 30,000 seats.

As mentioned earlier, the 2030 FIFA World Cup™ will be hosted by Portugal, Spain and Morocco, with Argentina and Paraguay also due to host one match each. While a clear picture has still not emerged how the matches will be divided between the host countries, one thing is certain: Portugal will not host the World Cup final.

Portugal not hosting the 2030 World Cup final information was given by António Laranjo, Coordinator of Portugal and Spain’s bid for the hosting of the 2030 World Cup, who is hopeful nonetheless that Portugal will at least get to host a semi-final match.

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