2030 World Cup to be hosted by three continents for first time - ESPN

A unique 2030 World Cup is set to be played in Europe and Africa with the surprising addition of South America in a deal to allow the men's soccer tournament to start with a 100th birthday celebration in Uruguay.

FIFA reached an agreement Wednesday between soccer's continental leaders to accept only one candidate for hosting the 2030 tournament, the sport's governing body said.

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The Spain-Portugal bid grew to add Morocco this year and now also includes longtime bid rivals Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. All six national teams will get automatic entry to the 48-team tournament, FIFA said.

It is the first time the World Cup will be played on more than one continent.

A key lure of the unprecedented three-continent project will be opening in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, where the Centenario Stadium hosted the inaugural 1930 World Cup final.

«The centennial World Cup could not be far from South America, where everything began,» said Alejandro Domínguez, president of South American soccer governing body CONMEBOL. «The 2030 World Cup will be played in three continents.»

The consensus reached by once-rival soccer continents also let FIFA fast-track the opening of the 2034 World Cup bidding contest, limited to member federations from Asia and Oceania.

Saudi Arabia immediately entered that contest and Australia is also interested after successfully co-hosting the Women's World Cup this year with New Zealand. Either way, the 2034 tournament will almost certainly be played in November and December — like last year's World Cup in Qatar.

Accelerating the choice of a 2034 host to the end of next year will be widely seen as a victory for Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed