NEW DELHI: Morocco, Portugal and Spain were on Wednesday named joint hosts for the 2030 World Cup but games will also be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, FIFA announced.
It will be the first time ever that World Cup will be staged across 3 continents and six countries.
The joint bid from Morocco, Portugal and Spain was the sole candidate to host the tournament. Three matches will be played in South America as a part of the celebration of the centenary of the first World Cup in Uruguay, the FIFA said.
"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," FIFA said in a statement.
"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... as well as three World Cup matches in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay respectively."
The 2022 World Cup was held in Qatar. Argentina are the defending champions.
"In a divided world, FIFA and football are uniting," FIFA president Gianni Infantino said.
"The FIFA Council... 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 organise one match each of the FIFA World Cup 2030."
Infantino said the first of these three matches would be played at Montevideo's Estadio Centenario, where the first World Cup took place in 1930.
Morocco's King Mohammed VI welcomed FIFA's decision. The African nation stunned the world in Qatar last year when they reached the semi-finals.
"His Majesty King Mohammed VI... has the great pleasure of announcing to the Moroccan people that the FIFA Council has unanimously selected the Morocco-Spain-Portugal bid as the sole candidate to organise the 2030 football World Cup," Morocco's Royal Office said in a statement.
FIFA also said that the 2034 World Cup will be held in the Asia or Oceania region, with member associations from those territories invited to bid to host the tournament.
(With inputs from Reuters)
