ZURICH: Morocco, Sp­ain and Portugal have been named joint hosts of the 2030 World Cup, while Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will host the opening matches as the footballing showpiece celebrates its centenary, FIFA announced on Wednesday.

FIFA said in a statement that the matches in South America, one each in Montevideo, Buenos Aires and Asuncion, were part of the celebration to mark 100 years since the first World Cup in Uruguay.

The bulk of games will be played in the three host countries.

The announcement puts an end to competition bet­w­een two major bids, one led by Spain and Portugal and the other from Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay.

Once the technical criteria have been validated, the governing body of world football will make official the award of its flagship event in 2024.

But, following the “unanimous” approval by the FIFA Council, the way seems clear for this unprecedented intercontinental format, which promises complex political and logistical challenges and raises further questions about the environmental impact of major sporting events.

Wednesday’s decision by FIFA marks the first time the World Cup will be staged across three continents and six countries, which might mean group matches will have to be held in different seasons based on the hemisphere.

At one stage, Spain and Portugal had included Ukraine in their bid, saying they wanted to send “a message of solidarity and hope” and pay tribute to the “tenacity and resilience” of a country invaded by Russia in February 2022.

Morocco, a five-time unsu­ccessful candidate to host the tournament, joined them in mid-March.

The agreement between European body UEFA and its African (CAF) and South American (CONMEBOL) counterparts confirms the withdrawal of Ukraine and also that of the South Ame­rican countries, in exchange for a symbolic concession.

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.”

The statement said a “cen­t­enary ceremony” will be held “at the stadium wh­e­re it all began”, in Montevideo’s Estadio Cen­te­nario in 1930, when the event brought together 13 teams in a single host city — compared with 32 for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and 48 from the 2026 World Cup in North America onwards.

Argentina are the defe­nding champions and the Argentine Football Associ­ation (AFA) said their team “will play the first match of the 2030 group stage at home and with its people”.

Robert Harrison, the president of the Parag­uayan Football Associ­ation (PFA), said Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay would automatically qualify for the World Cup but did not clarify what that would mean for the South American qualifiers.

While Portugal and Mor­occo have never hosted the World Cup, Spain last hos­ted the tournament in 1982.

Spain have been awar­ded the World Cup weeks after their disgraced former chief Luis Rubiales was forced to step down for alleged sexual assault at the Women’s World Cup.

Pedro Rocha, President of the Management Comm­ittee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, said they were excited to bring it back to the country, who won the World Cup in 2010.

“I am sure that together with Morocco and Portugal we will organise the best World Cup in history,” he said.

Fernando Gomes, the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, said: “Each of our countries brings a vibrant footballing tradition, unrivalled organisational experience and a capacity for innovation that will undoubtedly leave its mark on the future of the competition.” 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.

It also said it was lifting its ban on Russian under-17 teams competing internationally. This follows UEFA’s decision last week to lift a ban on Russia’s youth sides.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2023