FIFA World Cup Returns To Africa
The FIFA World Cup tournament is set to return to the shores of Africa in 2030. According to a decision made by the FIFA Council, the joint bid by Morocco, Spain, and Portugal will be the sole candidate to host football’s biggest fiesta.
“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,” read a statement from the world football governing body, FIFA.
It will be exactly 20 years after Africa hosted its first-ever FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The event was a resounding success, with many calling it the best World Cup ever. Morocco has been hosting a number of continental tournaments to strengthen the joint bid. The North Africans are hosting the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in what will now be a dress rehearsal for the 2030 World Cup.
With the World Cup turning 100 years old in 2030, it had been expected that the sentimental vote would go to the Uruguay bid since the first World Cup was played there. FIFA decided to play ceremonial games in South America instead.
“In a divided world, FIFA and football are uniting,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “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 organise 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.”
