tThe 2030 men’s FIFA World Cup is set to be spread across six countries on three continents, world football’s governing body has said. In Europe, Spain and Portugal, will be the main co-hosts, along with Morocco in North Africa, as first revealed by Sky News. FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement: “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.” (Photo: Argentina).

Earlier, the FIFA council, which has been discussing a plan to combine rival bids, said the Spain-Portugal-Morocco bid “is the only candidate”, confirming “three South American countries will host games.” Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina will get an opening match each to mark 100 years since the first World Cup took place in Uruguay and was won by the hosts. Argentina were runners-up in the tournament, while Paraguay is recognised as the traditional home of CONMEBOL.

The first game of the tournament will take place in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo, the city that hosted the first World Cup finals match 93 years ago. Matches in Argentina and Paraguay will follow before the rest of the 48-team tournament moves to North Africa and Europe. The proposal, backed by UEFA, the Confederation of African Football, and South American Confederation CONMEBOL, was accepted by the FIFA council at a meeting on Wednesday. Matches in Argentina and Paraguay will follow before the rest of the 48-team tournament moves to North Africa and Europe.

The proposal, backed by UEFA, the Confederation of African Football, and the South American Confederation CONMEBOL, was accepted by the FIFA council at a meeting on Wednesday. If the bid is confirmed, Morocco would become only the second African nation to host World Cup finals matches, after South Africa in 2010. Portugal have never hosted a World Cup before, but staged Euro 2004. Brazil, in 2014, were the last South American nation to host the tournament.

Due to FIFA rules, only Asia or Oceania could then bid for the 2034 World Cup – opening the path to Saudi Arabia. Following the announcement, Saudi Arabia confirmed its plan to bid for the competition. But Australia has also expressed interest in bidding for that tournament and successfully co-hosted the Women’s World Cup alongside New Zealand earlier this year. It comes after the news the UK and Ireland’s bid to host UEFA’s Euro 2028 is now unopposed, after all rival bids stepped aside.

Courtesy: By Rob Harris Sport correspondent @RobHarris