An Extraordinary FIFA Congress announced Wednesday Morocco, Portugal and Spain as the hosts of the 2030 World Cup, as well as Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2034 World Cup.
Chinese caddies hold a FIFA flag before the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Moscow, Russia, on June 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)
The virtual meeting attended by all 211 FIFA Member Associations also awarded three matches of the 2030 edition to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, one for each country, to celebrate the centenary of the World Cup.
"The appointment by acclamation of the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 editions of the FIFA World Cup concludes a thorough bidding process initiated in October 2023 following the unanimous proposal made by the FIFA Council and supported by all confederations, with a view to providing harmony and rotation between the confederations in relation to the hosting cycle for the tournament," FIFA said.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said, "In today's divided world, where it seems that nobody can agree any more on anything, to be able to agree on something like that is definitely an incredible message of unity and positivity. And, we need these messages today."
The Extraordinary FIFA Congress also approved the budgetary principles for the 2025 Club World Cup to reinvest all the generated revenues in club football.