(Photo Credit Harold Cunningham FIFA)
The FIFA Council has made some key decisions on the FIFA World Cup™ editions in 2030 and 2034
- Member associations from AFC and OFC have been invited to bid for the FIFA World Cup in 2034
- Morocco, Portugal and Spain joint bid is the sole candidate to host FIFA World Cup 2030™
- Centenary celebration and celebratory games to take place in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay
The FIFA World Cup in 2030 will span three continents and six countries with the centenary World Cup to be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco with three World Cup matches to played in South America.
The FIFA Council has unanimously agreed to host a unique centenary celebration ceremony in Uruguay’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.
“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,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. “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.”
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 FIFA member associations from the territories of the AFC and the OFC invited to bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2034™.
This will open the door for OFC Member Associations to be potentially part of a FIFA men’s World Cup for the first time.
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 stand-alone tournament with 16 participating teams. The respective slot allocation will be as follows: AFC: 3; CAF: 2; Concacaf: 2; CONMEBOL: 3; OFC: 1; UEFA: 4; host country: 1. Details on the tournament dates and host country will follow in due course.
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 take place from 31 August to 22 September 2024. Oceania will now be given direct entry to two teams meaning the winners of the OFC U-19 Women’s Championship in Fiji, New Zealand, will likely be joined by runner-up Fiji at the global showpiece next year. OFC’s Executive Committee will have to approve Fiji’s participation.
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 16 October to 3 November 2024 and the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Seychelles 2025™ from 1 to 11 May 2025.