Zurich (Switzerland): Morocco has won the right to host FIFA Football World Cup 2030 in a momentous victory for the football fans across North Africa.
Moroccans are a huge football fans and the country created history when it reached the Semi Final stage in the 2022 FIFA World Cup played in Qatar.
The achievement marks Morocco's long-awaited success after five previous unsuccessful bids and brings the World Cup back to Africa for the first time since South Africa hosted it in 2010.
Morocco’s successful bid for the 2030 FIFA Football World Cup is the result of a joint effort by the neighbouring Spain and Portugal – the two countries that will jointly host the football world cup in 2030.
But the story of FIFA WC 2030 does not end here. The FIFA World Cup 2030 matches in fact will be played in six countries across three continents, with the opening three matches to be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, the organisers announced Wednesday.
“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”, said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “In a divided world, FIFA and football are uniting,” he added.
“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”, said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
“In a divided world, FIFA and football are uniting,” he added.
The decision however is needed to be ratified at a FIFA Congress next year.
The football world cup organising body had earlier released the schedule of the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The 2026 edition of the World Cup will be the first to feature 48 teams and three host countries.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has staked claim to host the 2034 Football World Cup. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) officially announced the bid for FIFA World Cup 2034 Wednesday.
Reflecting on the bid, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman emphasized that Saudi Arabia’s decision to vie for the 2034 FIFA World Cup signifies the nation’s progress across all sectors.
Like Morocco, Saudi Arabia too has a huge population of diehard football fans. The national football team of Saudi Arabia has qualified for football six times. The Saudi Football Team had created history after it defeated 2022 FIFA World Cup Champion Argentina in their group match.
Interestingly, unlike the 2026 and 2030 events, Saudi Arabia plans to host all FIFA WC matches within the Kingdom, without naming NEOM as the destination.
However, the Times newspaper while reporting that Saudi Arabia had abandoned its plans to co-host Football World Cup 2030 with Egypt and Greece, claimed that the Kingdom is now focusing on hosting the 2034 World Cup in NEOM solo.
Under construction in in Tabuk region of Saudi Arabia and expected to be fully ready by 2030, NEOM City is a multi-trillion dollar project that includes smart towns, port and enterprise sectors, research centres, sports and entertainment venues and tourism centres along with a 170-kilometre-long city called The Line.
Of late the Kingdom has roped in a number of popular and renowned international players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Bauer, Karim Benzema and Neymar to play for local football clubs under the Saudi Pro League (SPL), believed to be Asia’s strongest football leagues.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman Al Khalifa has extended his support to Saudi bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
If Saudi Arabia wins the 2034 bid, Asia will have the chance to host the football world cup for 3rd time, after the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea Republic/Japan and FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
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