The 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico, just saw Spain lift the greatest prize in world football, triumphing over Argentina in an ill-tempered final at the New York, New Jersey Stadium. The 23rd edition of the tournament was hosted by three countries across 16 cities, with 11 in the United States, 3 in Mexico, and 2 in Canada.
This is the second tournament after the 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, to have multiple hosts. This was also the first edition to include 48 teams, expanding from the previous 32-team editions.
The 2030 edition promises to expand on this with even more stadiums and countries hosting together. As a tribute to the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup hosted by Uruguay in 1930, Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay will each host one of the three opening games. The rest of the games are to be played in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
Spain, courtesy of its 2026 triumph, will become the first defending champion to host a tournament. The country is expected to host matches in eleven venues, while Morocco will host in six stadiums and Portugal in three.
With 23 stadiums across six countries, situated in three different continents of Europe, Africa, and South America, the tournament promises to truly be a worldwide affair. Four out of the 23 stadiums earmarked for the tournament are brand new ones, with 11 in the list expected to undergo renovations, with some of them even undertaking major overhauls. The other eight on the list have been either constructed or renovated in the recent past.
Spain’s Host Cities for 2030
The 11 stadiums in the defending champions’ list include the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, the prestigious playing ground of one of the most successful teams in the history of club football, Real Madrid. Alongside is the redeveloped Camp Nou, the famed home of Real’s lifelong rivals FC Barcelona. These two headlining venues are joined by fields in Seville, Bilbao, Gijon, Las Palmas, Murcia, San Sebastian, and Zaragoza, joined by potentially renovated stadiums at Valencia and Vigo.
Morocco’s Project for 2030
Morocco’s bid included a list of six stadiums in Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech, Tangier, Fes, and Agadir. The crown jewel of the Morocoon project is the Grand Stade Hassan II in Casablanca, which is a 115,000-seater venue that is undergoing construction and a contender for both the largest soccer stadium in the world and the host venue for 2030.
Morocco’s hosting rights are a byproduct of a long-anticipated dream. The kingdom had previously bid for the hosting rights five times. The current co-hosting duty is seen as a step in the direction of a broader modernization of the nation built around the country’s national team, which has a popular following and has found improved success on the pitch.
The Other Co-Hosts
Portugal’s three stadiums are located in Lisbon and Porto, with the stadiums Estádio da Luz (home of SL Benfica), Estádio José Alvalade (home to Sporting CP) in the capital city of Lisbon, and Porto with the Estádio do Dragão in Porto, which hosts the namesake football club, FC Porto.
The three centenary matches in South America will be held in the countries of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is also known as Estadio River Plate, is the largest stadium in Argentina and the whole of South America. It is home to one of the most successful Argentine clubs in history, River Plate.
The Estadio Osvaldo Dominguez Dibb in Asuncion, Paraguay, is the home venue of Club Olimpia. The old stadium has been fully demolished, and a new modern stadium is being constructed at the same location and is expected to be finished by 2027 with a capacity of 46,000 seats.
The last of the centenary matches will be held at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay. The stadium was built for the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup. It is declared as the first Historical Monument of World Football by FIFA.
