FOOTBALL-FIFA considers proposal for six nations to host 2030 World Cup

ZURICH, Switzerland, CMC – Any Caribbean Football Union side fortunate enough to qualify for the 2030 FIFA World Cup tournament may rack up a chunk of air miles.

On Wednesday, the Council of Football’s world governing body accepted a proposal that Spain, Portugal, and Morocco jointly host the tournament – but the three opening matches take place in South America to commemorate the tournament’s centenary.

“In a divided world, FIFA and football are uniting,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said during the council meeting.

“The FIFA council, representing the entire world of football, unanimously agreed to celebrate the centenary of the first World Cup, whose first edition was played in Uruguay, most appropriately.”

He added: “As a result, a celebration will occur in South America, and three South American countries – Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina – will host one match each.

“The first of these three matches will, of course, be played at the stadium where it all began, in Montevideo’s mythical Estadio Centenario, precisely to celebrate the centenary edition of the FIFA World Cup.”

The proposal, if accepted, will mean the tournament being hosted in six countries across three continents, and FIFA will consider only bids from the Asian Football Confederation and the Oceania Football Confederation for the 2034 finals, with Concacaf giants, the United States, Canada, and Mexico set to host in 2026.

Uruguay staged the first World Cup in 1930 and won the tournament. The capital of Montevideo is expected to produce the opening match under the 2030 proposal, to be followed by games in Argentina and Paraguay.

Argentina was the runners-up in the 1930 tournament, and Paraguay was the traditional home of CONMEBOL, South American football’s governing body.

Under the proposal, which needs formal approval by the FIFA Congress, all three South American nations will automatically qualify for the tournament and play their opening matches on home soil.

The remainder of the 48-team tournament will shift to North Africa and Europe under the proposal by UEFA, European football’s governing body, the Confederation of African Football, and CONMEBOL.

Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago are the only two English-speaking CFU teams qualified for the World Cup tournament.