PROPERTY SEARCH
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The confetti has barely settled and Spain are already preparing to host the next World Cup
Less than 48 hours after Ferran Torres' extra-time winner against Argentina, all eyes are turning to 2030, when Spain co-hosts the tournament on home soil
The celebrations are still going. Ferran Torres' 106th-minute goal against Argentina on Sunday sealed Spain's second World Cup title in one of the most one-sided finals in recent memory, and the country is still pinching itself.But football moves fast, and here we are on Tuesday July 21, less than 48 hours later, already talking about 2030. Because Spain does not just get to defend its title as world champions. It gets to do so on home soil. And for anyone living in Spain right now, that is a genuinely exciting prospect.
What is happening in 2030?
The 2030 World Cup is, by any measure, unlike any tournament that has ever been staged. Spain, Portugal and Morocco are the primary hosts, sharing 101 matches across 18 stadiums in the three countries. The bid has been in the making for years, with Morocco, Spain and Portugal confirmed as co-hosts back in 2023.
But there is an additional element that makes this edition truly unique. To mark the centenary of the very first World Cup, played in Uruguay in 1930, three opening matches will be held in South America: one in Montevideo, Uruguay, where the inaugural tournament was staged and won; one in Argentina, who were the beaten finalists in 1930; and one in Paraguay, the home of CONMEBOL, the world's oldest football confederation.
These centenary matches kick off on Saturday June 8 and Sunday June 9, with the European and African leg of the tournament beginning on June 13 and 14. The final is scheduled for Sunday July 21, 2030.
All six host nations, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, qualify automatically.
Where will the matches be played in Spain?
Spain's nine host stadiums include some of the most iconic venues in world football:
- Camp Nou, Barcelona (capacity 105,000)
- Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid (83,186)
- Estadio Metropolitano, Madrid (70,692)
- Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville (70,000)
- San Mamés, Bilbao (53,331)
- Estadio José Zorrilla (Nueva Romareda), Zaragoza (43,110)
- RCDE Stadium, Barcelona (40,500)
- Anoeta Stadium, San Sebastián (42,300)
- Estadio Gran Canaria, Las Palmas (44,500)
The final is widely expected to be held at the Santiago Bernabéu, 48 years after it last hosted a World Cup final when Italy beat West Germany there in 1982. The Bernabéu will meet FIFA's minimum capacity requirement of 80,000 seats. Camp Nou, still under construction and some way from meeting FIFA's requirements, is considered less likely to host the decisive match.
The tournament will feature 48 teams, though FIFA chief Gianni Infantino has not ruled out expanding to 64. "When organising a World Cup, it's important to organise it for the whole world," he said recently. "Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating."
It will also mark the first time the World Cup has been held in Africa since 2010, and the first ever in North Africa, with Morocco's Hassan II Stadium in Casablanca set to become the largest football stadium in the world, with a capacity of 115,000.
And 2034? That one goes to Saudi Arabia, confirmed at the same FIFA Congress in December 2024.
For now though, Spain's players can enjoy the moment. In four years, they get to do it all over again. At home.
Image: FIFA
