Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay will host one match each, with the rest of the competition being held in Morocco, Spain, and Portugal – whose joint bid to host the World Cup has been initially accepted by the governing body as the sole candidacy.

While FIFA announced that Morocco, Portugal, and Spain qualify automatically for the 2030 World Cup (the decision has to be confirmed in 2024), its statement doesn’t clarify whether the three South American countries have also secured a spot – something that was previously announced during the Conmebol press conference.

FIFA has yet to confirm Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay’s berths for 2030 World Cup

Paraguayan FA president Robert Harrison said during the Conmebol announcement that Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay are already qualified for the 2030 World Cup, something that FIFA has yet to confirm.

One would assume that the three South American nations should be granted a 2030 World Cup spot for hosting matches, but that cannot be confirmed until the governing body says so. However, let’s keep in mind that the final decision in regard to the 2030 World Cup will be announced in 2024 by the FIFA Congress.

In an overview of the bidding process, FIFA stated that if Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay are confirmed to host these matches, they will automatically qualify 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.”

Therefore, maybe we have to wait until then to see if Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay automatically qualify. Meanwhile, Morocco, Spain, and Portugal’s spots are also subject to the completion of the bidding process in 2024.

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.

Then the tournament is slated to move to Europe and Africa for the remainder, upon the initial tweets and breaking news in South America, FIFA has issued a statement on the matter clearing up many questions raised by the casual announcement by Conmebol.

At the moment, FIFA announced that the intention of the 2030 FIFA World Cup is to “unite the world in unique global celebration”, with Morocco, Portugal and Spain being the remaining and formal nations to host the 2030 World Cup. Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay will host “celebration games”, opening matches, as a tribute to the first World Cup held in Uruguay in 1930.

FIFA Statement on 2030 World Cup

FIFA also stated that members of the AFC and OFC federations have been invited to make bid requests for the 2034 tournament.

“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 the country’s capital, Montevideo, where the first ever FIFA World Cup took place in 2030, as well as three World Cup matches in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay respectively.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino followed up with a statement of his own, “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 mythical Estádio Centenário, precisely to celebrate the centenary edition of the FIFA World Cup.”

“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,” the FIFA President added. “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,” the FIFA President concluded.

Launch of the bidding process for the FIFA World Cup 2034

The 2034 World Cup will rotate then to Oceania and Africa for said edition, with the minimum hosting requirements by FIFA being in place to present a formal bid.

Alejandro Domínguez’s tweet indicates that the three host countries for the opening matches of the tournament will be Argentina, who hosted the World Cup in 1978, Paraguay, a first-time host and the country of Alejandro Domínguez’s birth and the official base of Conmebol. Finally, the World Cup returns to Uruguay, where La Celeste won their first FIFA World Cup, and third recognized world title in 1930.

The tournament seems to be taking a page out of the 2026 World Cup with three host cities/nations, but then the tournament will be moved to Europe and Africa, where Morocco, Spain, and Portugal will takeover and be the formal 2030 World Cup hosts.

The news of Alejandro Domínguez ‘s tweet was later shared by The Argentine soccer federation, the President of Uruguay, and other political figures. FIFA usually shares the news of the next World Cup host or now hosts in a ceremony where the nation or nations are revealed right then and there after a formal bidding process.

2030 World Cup to be played in six countries

A source within Conmebol told Bolavip that Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay will play their opening matches at home and then move to Europe and Africa for the rest of the tournament.

The FIFA World Cup in South America would be a massive boost for the region, suffering from a hostile political climate, mounting inflation across all its nations, and in the case of Argentina which is in the middle of an economic recession where the Argentine peso has devalued to a point where it is comparable to the inflation of some of the poorest countries in the world.

Alejandro Domínguez held a press conference to reinforce that FIFA and Conmebol have reached an agreement for the confederation to host three World Cup matches. He stated that “soccer has united three continents and six nations”, referring to Morocco, Spain, and Portugal.