World Cup 2030: Hosts, dates, venues and how the centenary tournament will work

World Cup 2030: Everything you need to know

With World Cup 2026 approaching its conclusion, attention is already turning to the 2030 edition — a tournament set to be the most geographically ambitious in the competition’s history, spanning three continents and six nations across 44 days.

Primary hosts and the two-continent first

Morocco, Portugal and Spain will serve as the main host nations for 2030, marking the first time a World Cup has been staged across two different continents simultaneously. Morocco has proposed six host cities, Portugal two, and Spain nine.

The final venue has yet to be confirmed, but the leading candidates are Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu and Morocco’s planned Grand Stade Hassan II in Casablanca.

Centenary celebration matches

To mark 100 years since the very first World Cup in 1930, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will each host a single opening match. The historic curtain-raiser will take place at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo — the same stadium that hosted the inaugural final — giving the tournament a symbolic link to its origins.

Dates and format

The tournament is scheduled to run from June 8 to July 21, 2030. The 44-day duration — longer than any previous edition — is designed to accommodate the logistical demands of intercontinental travel.

Building on the expanded format introduced at the 2026 tournament, 2030 will feature 48 nations competing across 104 matches.

Automatic qualification

All six host countries across the three continents receive automatic qualification. Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay are therefore already confirmed participants, regardless of their performances in the respective qualifying campaigns.