2030 FIFA World Cup

In March 2025, it was initially reported that CONMEBOL proposed a one-off 64-team expansion to honour the tournament's centennial anniversary during that month's FIFA Council meeting. Later in September of that year, CONMEBOL leaders directly met with FIFA president Gianni Infantino in New York City to discuss the expansion. The idea has been met with backlash from fans and some football executives claiming a devaluing of the qualification process and a reduction in the quality of competition during the tournament should 64 teams—which represent 30% of FIFA members as of 2025—qualify for the tournament. ==Host selection==

FIFA launched the bidding process in 2022. Because of the rule preventing countries belonging to confederations that hosted the two preceding tournaments to host the next one, members of AFC and CONCACAF could not bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, as the hosts of the World Cup in 2022 (Qatar) and 2026 (United States, Canada, and Mexico). On 11 December 2024, FIFA confirmed that the 2030 World Cup will be jointly hosted by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain. This announcement was made alongside the decision to award the 2034 tournament to Saudi Arabia during an Extraordinary FIFA Congress meeting. ==Proposed venues==

Prior to finalising the bid book on 31 July 2024, the Royal Spanish Football Federation announced its proposed 11 stadiums from 9 cities to host matches. The host city list was finalised 12 days later. It includes six stadiums in six cities in Morocco, three stadiums in two cities in Portugal, and eleven stadiums in nine cities in Spain, for a total of twenty stadiums in seventeen cities. In April 2025, some residents of San Sebastián wrote to FIFA asking to be removed as a host city amid overtourism. On 12 July 2025, Málaga withdrew due to logistical reasons regarding the renovation of Estadio La Rosaleda. On 15 March 2026, the mayor of A Coruña, Inés Rey, and the president of Deportivo La Coruña, Juan Carlos Escotet, announced that they would withdraw as host city due to the costs of hosting despite having plans to upgrade the Estadio de Riazor. Towards the end of March 2026, it was reported that the Royal Spanish Football Federation had submitted bids for Nou Mestalla in Valencia, and Estadio de Balaídos in Vigo, which were previously turned down by FIFA due to their initial inclusion exceeding a limit of twenty stadiums per tournament, to replace Málaga and A Coruña's stadiums. Three South American cities were also selected in the bid book to host the three centenary matches. ==Teams==

Qualification All six host nations qualified for the World Cup. ==Marketing==

Broadcasting rights • Brazil – Grupo Globo • Croatia – HRT • Czech Republic – ČT, TV Nova • France – M6 • Hungary – MTVA • Romania – Antena • Slovakia – TV JOJ • South Korea – JTBC • United Kingdom – BBC, ITV Sponsorship ==Controversies==

Manipulation of Spanish venues On March 23, 2025, news broke that the Royal Spanish Football Federation manipulated the scores when choosing the venues in order to exclude Balaídos Stadium and include Anoeta Stadium. Inclusion of centenary match hosts With the FIFA rotation system, CONCACAF (which won the rights to host the 2026 World Cup), CONMEBOL, UEFA, and CAF were unable to bid, leaving 2034 open only for the AFC and OFC. This led to accusations that FIFA intentionally selected these countries, especially those in the CONMEBOL region, to ensure that Saudi Arabia, an AFC member with major human rights controversies, would win its bid unopposed. Animal welfare concerns Animal rights organisations have accused Morocco of killing stray dogs ahead of its co-hosting of the FIFA World Cup. These groups estimate the stray dog population at three million and have alleged that methods used include poisoning and shooting. In response, Moroccan authorities adopted Law 19-25 in 2025, which established a legal framework for the management of stray animals. The law introduced measures such as sterilisation, vaccination, identification, and the use of shelters, and restricted the killing of stray animals. 2025 Gen Z protests In late September 2025, a series of protests erupted in several cities in Morocco by young people calling themselves Gen Z 212. The protests were sparked by the deterioration of the country's health and education systems and the government's excessive spending on sports infrastructure in preparation for hosting the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 FIFA World Cup. ==Notes==