The men’s World Cup will take place in six countries in 2030 – spread across three continents. This has never happened before. The first three games of the tournament will be played in Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina, with the remainder in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The distance between the venues is causing criticism from fans and environmental organizations. SRF sports editor Marcel Melcher on the sense and nonsense of the first truly global football World Cup.
How did the venues come about?
There were originally various interested parties for the 2030 World Cup. Greece, Egypt and Saudi Arabia evaluated a joint application. In South America, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile were interested. In Europe, it was Spain and Portugal that first brought Ukraine on board. However, it was then decided that this would not work and Morocco was added to the Iberian bid.
Taking into account the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup, which was held in Uruguay in 1930, the world football association Fifa has chosen the compromise that three games will be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. The remaining 101 games will take place in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
Why do we need six host countries?
The FIFA Council would have to answer this question. There are 37 national representatives on the committee, five of whom come from South America. They all voted for the World Cup with six host countries on three continents. There is always room for discussion, including why the tournament wasn’t given to Morocco alone. After all, North Africa has never hosted a World Cup. Ultimately, the 37 officials made a unanimous decision.
Is there a risk of distortion of competition?
Some of the teams will play their opening games in South America. Others only play in Morocco, Spain and Portugal. This means that some teams will also have to deal with jet lag and climatic changes. But I assume that solutions will be found here. It is conceivable, for example, that these three games could be brought forward a little and the teams would then get a week’s break until their second game. Such a period of time should be enough to acclimatize and get rid of jet lag.
Is FIFA scaring away fans with its decision?
A single venue would be more convenient for fans from all over the world who want to attend the games live. However, Portugal, Spain and Morocco are geographically very close to each other – and the vast majority of games take place there. Sometimes the fans will probably have to get on the plane. But they also had to do that at the World Cups in Russia (2018) and Brazil (2014). There the distances between the venues were significantly greater. There may also be ships across the Strait of Gibraltar that will take fans from the Iberian Peninsula to Morocco and back again.