World Cup 2030: Spain and Portugal's bid gains momentum

Spain and Portugal are the European projects that had explicitly expressed their intention to participate in the race for the 2030 World Cup, although other options had also emerged, such as, for example, another joint bid by Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Serbia.

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On the other hand, sources from the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) explained to Efe, the latter has not advanced in the technical details of the project and is on hold, although it has not been formally ruled out.

Aleksander Ceferin, president of UEFA, assured more than two years ago that his intention was that only one European bid would be submitted. With the withdrawal of the British-Irish bid, the bid of Spain and Portugal have a free hand, although the actual process has not begun.

The decision to be taken until 2024

As FIFA confirmed at the time, the tournament will kick off in the middle of this year and the final decision will not be taken until the 2024 Congress of world soccer's governing body, that is, six years before the tournament.

It will be a process similar to the one implemented for the election of the 2026 host city, in which each bid submitted will be examined and receive a score that will be made public. The Congress votes will also be public. Until the election of the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cups, the decision was made by the FIFA Executive Committee.

On June 13, 2018, on the eve of the World Cup in Russia, the FIFA Congress in Moscow voted in favor of the joint bid of Mexico, the United States, and Canada for 2026 - the first with 48 teams - with 134 votes to Morocco's 65 and a single abstention. The Moroccan project then advanced its intention to try again for 2030.

Spain and Portugal past editions

Spain hosted the 1982 World Cup and hosted the 1964 European Championship finals. Portugal hosted the continental tournament in 2004, as well as the U-20 World Cup in 1991. The Iberian bid now enters even more strongly into a process in which all the possible rivals are still unknown.

The South American joint project of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chile is, in principle, assured, although in recent months other very diverse options have appeared, such as Morocco, which has tried unsuccessfully for 1990, 1998, 2006, 2018, and 2026 editions, to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The names of Israel, Egypt, Australia, and even Cameroon, which just hosted the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations, have also emerged on the scene in the race for the 2030 World Cup, which will take the baton from the Canada-U.S.-Mexico 2026 World Cup.

Europe last hosted the World Cup in Russia 2018, CONMEBOL in Brazil 2014, Africa in South Africa 2010, Asia will host Qatar 2022 and CONCACAF is ruled out as the one that will host it just before. Oceania is the only Confederation that has never hosted an absolute World Cup.

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