Where could the FIFA World Cup 2030 final be held: possible candidates

The FIFA World Cup 2030 promises to be a World Cup like you’ve never seen it before. On Wednesday, world soccer’s governing body announced matches would be played in no fewer than six countries on three different continents at the future edition of the tournament, with Spain, Portugal and Morocco named as the “main” hosts.

FIFA reveal six World Cup 2030 hosts

“The FIFA Council agreed unanimously that the only bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2030 will be the joint bid of Morocco, Portugal and Spain,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

He also added, “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. As a result, a celebration will take place in South America and three South American countries - Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay - will organise one match each of the FIFA World Cup 2030. The first of these three matches will of course be played at the stadium where it all began, in Montevideo’s mythical Estádio Centenário, precisely to celebrate the centenary edition of the FIFA World Cup.”

Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will therefore open the event, hosting one match each, before the rest of the tournament plays out in Southwest Europe and North Africa.

Which cities and stadiums will host World Cup 2030 games?

With the (multiple) hosts now known, the countries involved will turn their attention to finalising which cities and venues will be used at the tournament, with Spain having drawn up a longlist of 15, which will presumably have to be whittled down considerably, despite the tournament featuring 48 team and 104 games.

Three venues are expected to be used in Portugal (Porto’s Estádio do Dragão and Estádio da Luz and Estádio José Alvalade, home to Benfica and Sporting Clube de Portugal respectively in Lisbon), while Rabat, Casablanca, Tanger, Agadir, Marrakech and Fez are in contention to host games played in Morocco.

Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu was early favourite to host the World Cup 2030 final

While nothing has been officially confirmed, Spanish daily newspaper El País claim the World Cup 2030 final is most likely to be played at Real Madrid’s Estadio Santiago Bernabeú, which hosted the 1982 final between Italy and West Germany.

Los Blancos’ home ground is coming towards the end of a $550-million renovation, which began in 2019 and has increased its capacity to just over 85,000. The project included a new wrap-around steel facade, a retractable roof and retractable pitch.

Barcelona’s Camp Nou is also undergoing a significant facelift, which will also see its capacity to rise, from 99,350 to 105,000. Despite being the stadium with the largest capacity in Spain and Europe, it is highly unlikely that a final in Spain would be played anywhere other than in Madrid.

Is Portugal an alternative for the final?

Portugal’s biggest proposed venue, Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, has room for fewer than 65,000 fans, which means Europe’s westernmost country has little chance of hosting the final.

Will Morocco host the 2030 World Cup final?

As for Morocco, the Grand Stade de Casablanca appears to be their best hope of hosting a game in the latter stages of the competition. The issue there, however, is that it has yet to be built, with little progress having been made since 2019. The proposed 93,000-seater stadium was due to be completed in 2025 in line with Morocco’s failed World Cup 2026 bid, although the news that the African nation will be joint hosting the following edition will surely speed things up again.

This does not seem to be a problem, however, and Morocco are fully asserting themselves as lead candidates for the final right from the off. The President of the Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), Faouzi Kekjaa, announced the day after the host countries were named that Morocco had presented 6 stadiums as possible venues for the 2030 World Cup and expressed his desire to see the final be played at the Grand Stade de Casablanca.

He said that “the venues we are going to present are not only going to comply with FIFA regulations, but they will also express the cultural diversity and geographical richness... this will make sure fans across the world can celebrate a true centenary World Cup... We hope to experience an extraordinary final that honours the entire continent and young generations in a stadium in Casablanca that will be extraordinary and marvellous.”

I guess it’s over to you, FIFA...