What you need to know about the 2030 Fifa World Cup bid

Fifa will vote for the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 World Cups in an extraordinary virtual congress on Wednesday, though with only one bid for each tournament submitted, it appears to be a formality.

Saudi Arabia are the lone bidders for the 48-team 2034 finals, while the 2030 tournament is set to be spanned over a record six countries and three continents.

Here is all you need to know about the latter Bid, which will mostly see games played in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, but also have centenary fixtures in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

WHEN IS IT?

The dates may need some firming up, but for the moment the tournament is scheduled to be held from 13 June - 21 July, 2030.

AFRICA’S SECOND WORLD CUP

Following the success of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the tournament will return to the continent with Morocco as co-hosts two decades on.

Morocco has bid several times before on its own, but this time has willing partners in Spain and Portugal, with the geography between the three nations making this viable.

Just how many games each will get, and who will host the final, remains to be seen, but it is likely the decider will go to Spain.

SECOND TIME FOR SPAIN

Portugal have never staged the tournament before, but Spain were the sole hosts in 1982 when the World Cup was expanded from 16 to 24 teams for the first time. Italy lifted the trophy with a 3-1 victory over West Germany in the final played in Madrid.

Generally viewed as an entertaining tournament, it was also criticised for terrible fouls, poor officiating and at times overcrowded stadiums.

CENTENARY MATCHES

The first World Cup was played in Uruguay in 1930 and to mark 100 years since the launch of the competition, the first three games in 2030 will be staged in South America.

The opening match is set for the near 63 000-seater Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay, which was also the venue for the very first World Cup, having been built in just nine months in 1929.

Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina is to host the second game and a new National Stadium is being developed in Asunción, Paraguay for the third.

After that, the matches all move to Europe and Africa.

TEAMS

Like the expanded 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, the 2030 tournament will feature 48 teams. That is almost four times the number of teams (13) that competed in the inaugural finals 100 years prior.

Africa is again expected to have nine automatic qualifiers and one team that could book their place via the playoffs.

MAJOR VENUES

In Spain the major venues will be the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (80 000-seater) of Real Madrid and the nearby Metropolitano Stadium (70 460) of city rivals Atletico. Barcelona’s Camp Nou (105 000) is a strong shout to host the final. Spain has 11 potential venues in all.

There are only three venues put forward so far in Portugal, two of them in Lisbon. Benfica’s Estádio da Luz (66 647) and Sporting Lisbon’s Estádio José Alvalade (50.095), as well as Porto’s Estádio do Dragão (50 033) are all listed.

Morocco has suggested six venues, including the brand-new Hassan II Stadium in Casablanca that will be the biggest of the lot at 115 000 capacity. They are pushing hard to host the final.

In all there will be a total of 20 stadia in 17 cities across the competition.