Six countries on three continents to host 2030 FIFA World Cup

If you thought that three countries hosting a FIFA World Cup in 2026 was going to be a lot to handle, wait until you hear what’s in store for 2030.

We’re under three years away from the 2026 FIFA World Cup being hosted in Canada, Mexico, and the United States — including matches in Toronto and Vancouver — but the world’s biggest soccer tournament is doubling its number of host countries for the following edition, according to multiple reports, including top soccer insider Fabrizio Romano.

🏆🌎 Morocco, Spain and Portugal are set to host the 2030 World Cup.

Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to play their first games at home to celebrate 100 years since the first edition.

It’s gonna be World Cup in three continents for the first time ever. pic.twitter.com/7TfnoRDcUw

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 4, 2023

Morocco, Portugal, and Spain are set to play host to the majority of games for the 2030 World Cup, though they won’t be the only countries with matches in their country.

As a celebration of the tournament’s 100-year anniversary — which was first held with 13 teams in Uruguay in 1930 — the tournament’s first three games will take place in South America in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay, respectively.

The naming of six host countries also automatically qualifies each of those nations for a place in the tournament. The biggest logistical issue, of course, will be adequate accommodation for the teams competing in the opening matches to have suitable rest and recovery after flying across the globe for their remaining group-stage games.

The multi-host concept is quite a departure from the usual structure of World Cups, which has only ever seen more than one host country on one occasion in 2002 when Japan and South Korea split the games between 20 venues across the two nations.

Canada featured in their first World Cup on the men’s side since 1986 last year and has automatically qualified for the 2026 edition due to being a host. However, if they’re looking to make the three-continent extravaganza in 2030, they’ll have to go through a yet-to-be-announced qualifying process, similar to how they qualified in 2022.

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