The FIFA World Cup is without any doubt the biggest sporting event on Earth. That’s why, even though the 2026 event is still years away from us, people are already wondering where the 2030 tournament will take place.
The 2030 World Cup won’t be just another edition of FIFA‘s flagship tournament, as it will take place 100 years after its inaugural edition. The governing body is aware of this significant date, which was considered at the time of designating the host country.
In an unprecedented decision, FIFA announced the 2030 World Cup will take place in six different countries across three continents. However, only three national teams have already secured a spot.
The teams that have automatically qualified for the 2030 World Cup
FIFA confirmed in a statement that the joint bid of Morocco, Portugal, and Spain is the sole candidate to host the 2030 World Cup, which is why these three countries qualify automatically for the event, subject to the completion of the bidding process and a decision by the FIFA Congress in 2024.
In addition, FIFA decided to celebrate the centenary of the tournament by taking World Cup matches to South America, where the first event took place. Therefore, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will host one match each. However, the governing body hasn’t confirmed these teams are already qualified for the competition. But in a final overview of the bidding process, FIFA made it clear that if these countries are officially selected to host these three matches, they will qualify automatically for the 2030 World Cup:
“In the event that the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF), the Argentinian Football Association (AFA) and the Paraguayan Football Association (APF) are confirmed to host the centenary celebration matches as part of the final competition of the FIFA World Cup 2030, they will directly qualify for the Competition from CONMEBOL’s allocation of 6.5 teams.“
Besides, a centenary celebration will be held in Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, where the first ever World Cup took place in 1930. Estadio Centenario will be home to the first of the three matches in South America.