Morocco–Portugal–Spain 2030 FIFA World Cup bid explained

Tourney Name:FIFA World Cup bid
Year:2030
Other Titles:Yalla Vamos 2030
يلا فاموس 2030
ⵢⴰⵍⵍⴰ ⴼⴰⵎⵓⵙ 2030
Size:250px
Dates:June–July 2030
Confederations:6
Num Teams:48
Venues:20 stadiums in 17 cities

The Morocco–Portugal–Spain 2030 FIFA World Cup bid, officially known as Yalla Vamos 2030, was a successful bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup by Morocco, Portugal and Spain.[1] [2] [3] [4] The bid was first announced by the football federations of Portugal and Spain on 7 October 2020,[5] with Morocco joining on 14 March 2023. On 4 October 2023, Morocco, Portugal and Spain were chosen as the host countries for the 2030 FIFA World Cup over the South American bid, with Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay being selected to host three inaugural matches on the occasion of the centenary of the 1930 World Cup.[6] It will be ratified by the FIFA Congress on 11 December 2024.[7]

Background

Spain has previously hosted the FIFA World Cup finals in 1982,[2] while Portugal and Morocco have never hosted the tournament. All three countries have hosted the finals of their continental tournaments once – Spain in 1964, Portugal in 2004 and Morocco in 1988.[8] Spain and Portugal had previously submitted an unsuccessful joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup in either 2018 or 2022.[9] FIFA's rules for rotating the tournament between continents made UEFA members, including the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) ineligible to bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[10]

The regulations for the 2030 World Cup bidding process were announced in the second quarter of 2022, with applications being accepted from June that year and the host to be officially selected at the 74th FIFA Congress in 2024.[3] [11] With regulations remaining the same as those for the 2026 World Cup, football federations from Asia (AFC) and North America (CONCACAF) will be ineligible to host following the successful Qatar 2022 and United 2026 bids respectively.[3] [11] The tournament will mark the centenary of the first FIFA World Cup which was hosted by Uruguay;[1] several other national football federations across Europe, South America and Africa have expressed interest in bidding to host the tournament.[3]

Announcement

The FPF and RFEF jointly announced their intentions to bid for the tournament during a goalless friendly match between the two countries' national teams on 7 October 2020.[5] Before another goalless friendly between the two teams on 4 June 2021 (which also marked the centenary of Portugal's first international fixture, against Spain)[1] the agreement to jointly support a bid was formalised.[2] The respective presidents of the RFEF and FPF, Luis Rubiales and Fernando Gomes, ratified the agreement on behalf of their respective federations. Also in attendance to support the bid were King of Spain Felipe VI, President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa, as well as multiple government ministers and officials from both countries.[1] [3]

Addition of Morocco as co-host

On 5 October 2022, the FPF and RFEF held a joint press conference on their 2030 World Cup bid at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.[12] RFEF president Rubiales and FPF president Gomes were joined by Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) president Andriy Pavelko, announcing that Ukraine would join the bid, despite the Russian invasion of the country. On 29 November, The Guardian reported that the Ukrainian part of the bid was "likely dead" after Pavelko was arrested on suspiscion of embezzelment.[13]

Independently of the Spain–Portugal bid, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation announced in mid-2018 that it would seek to host the tournament.[14] [15] [16] [17] It was Morocco's sixth bid to host the FIFA World Cup, after unsuccessful attempts in 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2026.[18] [19] On 14 March 2023, King Mohammed VI of Morocco announced that the country would instead join the Spain–Portugal bid as a co-host. Although the Royal Spanish Football Federation did not immediately confirm the addition, the prime ministers of Spain and Portugal both welcomed Morocco's decision to join the bid.[20] [21] On 1 April 2023, the Kyiv Post reported that Spain and Portugal ultimately decided against going with Ukraine for the bid, "presumably" to avoid bringing attention to "Ukrainian corruption".[22]

On 27 September 2023, Morocco was selected as the host of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. On 4 October 2023, the FIFA Council unanimously approved Spain, Portugal and Morocco as the sole bids for the tournament.[23]

Major sports events hosting experiences

Spain, Portugal and Morocco have all hosted various major sporting events, including:

Key people

Presidents

Ambassadors

Venues

On 14 July 2022, the Royal Spanish Football Federation unveiled a shortlist including 15 stadiums in Spain. It was decided 11 Spanish stadiums will be selected with three Portuguese ones for the Spain–Portugal 2030 FIFA World Cup bid but when Morocco joined the bid there is a possibility that Spain will select 6 or 7 stadiums.

On 22 June 2023, the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation Fouzi Lekjaa revealed the list of cities and stadiums that Morocco will present as part of the candidacy file to host the 2030 World Cup in a joint file with Spain and Portugal, as it was decided that 6 stadiums will be selected over 6 cities, of which 5 were previously built and will undergo a number of renovations.[25]

On 19 July 2024, the Royal Spanish Football Federation unveiled the 11 selected Spanish venues, discarding Vigo, Murcia, Gijón and Valencia.[26]

denotes stadium used for previous men's World Cup tournament (Spain only)

⋆ planned stadiums to be built

+ stadiums that will undergo renovation

Barcelona Madrid Lisbon
Camp Nou +RCDE StadiumSantiago Bernabéu +Metropolitano StadiumEstádio da Luz[27] Estádio José Alvalade
Capacity: 99,354Expandable to: 105,000Capacity: 40,000Capacity: 81,044Capacity: 70,460Capacity: 64,642Capacity: 50,095
San Sebastián Seville
AnoetaLa Cartuja
Capacity: 40,000Capacity: 70,000
Bilbao Porto
San MamésEstádio do Dragão
Capacity: 53,289Capacity: 50,033
La Coruña Las Palmas
Riazor +Estadio Gran Canaria +
Capacity: 32,660Expandable to: 48,000Capacity: 32,392Expandable to: 44,682
Málaga Zaragoza
La Rosaleda +La Romareda +
Capacity: 30,044Expandable to: 45,000Capacity: 33,608Expandable to: 42,500
Rabat Casablanca Tangier Agadir Marrakech Fes
Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium +Grand Stade de Casablanca *Ibn Batouta Stadium +Adrar Stadium +Marrakesh Stadium +Fez Stadium +
Capacity: 53,000Expandable to: 69,500Capacity: 115,000Capacity: 65,000Expandable to: 72,500Capacity: 45,480Expandable to: 55,000Capacity: 45,240Capacity: 45,000Expandable to: 55,800

Marketing

The bid slogan, "Yalla Vamos 2030", and visual identity was unveiled on 19 March 2024 at a press conference in Lisbon. This dynamic phrase featured prominently in the official logo of the 2030 World Cup bid, along with a vibrant depiction of the number 30 surrounding the football with the sun and the sea. Symbolizing the year of the tournament, the number was artfully incorporated with colors inspired by the flags of the three host countries. The bid is under the slogan: "Yalla Vamos 2030" meaning "Let's Go" in Arabic (Yalla), Portuguese and Spanish (Vamos), captures the essence of unity and excitement for the upcoming event. [28]

Notes and References

  1. News: Spain and Portugal launch official bid for 2030 World Cup . 27 June 2021 . France24 . AFP . 4 June 2021.
  2. Web site: Brennan . Feargal . Spain and Portugal confirm 2030 joint World Cup bid . football-espana.net . 27 June 2021 . 4 June 2021.
  3. News: Barker . Gabby . The Iberian Candidacy for the 2030 World Cup kicks off . 27 June 2021 . sportsfinding.com . 5 June 2021.
  4. News: Ukraine joins Spain and Portugal's 2030 World Cup bid . 5 October 2022 . Reuters . 5 October 2022 . en.
  5. News: Hall . Pete . Portugal and Spain play out goalless draw as World Cup bid announced . 27 June 2021 . Eurosport . 7 October 2020.
  6. News: Portugal and Spain play out goalless draw as World Cup bid announced . 5 October 2023 . Al Jazeera . 4 October 2023.
  7. Web site: FIFA . 2023-10-04 . FIFA Council takes key decisions on FIFA World Cup editions in 2030 and 2034 . 2023-10-04 . FIFA . english.
  8. Web site: History . UEFA.com . 27 June 2021.
  9. News: Russia and Qatar to host 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, respectively . FIFA . 2 December 2010 . 28 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20101203003635/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/bidders/2018/media/newsid%3D1344971.html . 3 December 2010 . dead .
  10. News: England's hopes of hosting 2030 World Cup given boost. The Telegraph . 14 October 2016 . 14 January 2017 . Rumsby . Ben .
  11. News: World Cup 2030: FIFA president Gianni Infantino promises UK and Ireland 'bullet-proof' bidding process . 27 June 2021 . SkySports . PA Media . 20 March 2021.
  12. Web site: La RFEF y la Federación Portuguesa ofrecerán una rueda de prensa conjunta sobre su candidatura al Mundial 2030 . RFEF.es . 4 October 2022 . es.
  13. Web site: Ukraine's 2030 World Cup bid likely dead after country's FA chief arrested . theguardian.com . 29 October 2022 .
  14. Web site: Morocco To Bid For 2030 World Cup. 25 July 2018. Hot Sports TV. 26 July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180726165954/http://hotsportstv.com/morocco-to-bid-for-2030-world-cup/. 26 July 2018. dead.
  15. News: Morocco Will Bid Again to Host 2030 World Cup.
  16. Web site: King of Morocco orders country to bid for 2030 World Cup. 15 June 2018. 13 September 2018. BBC.
  17. Web site: World Cup 2030: Morocco to bid to host the tournament again after losing out to the United States, Canada & Mexico for 2026 finals . 13 September 2018.
  18. Web site: Morocco announces fresh World Cup bid after defeat. 12 July 2018.
  19. Web site: Morocco hopes to bid for 2030 World Cup despite 5th time defeat. 15 June 2018. 13 September 2018.
  20. News: 2023-03-15 . Spain and Portugal welcome Morocco to 2030 World Cup bid . 2023-03-16 . Associated Press News.
  21. Web site: Morocco set to replace Ukraine in Spain–Portugal 2030 World Cup bid. 9 March 2023. The Athletic.
  22. Web site: Why Ukraine Was Dropped From a Joint Bid to Host the World Cup. Jason Jay. Smart. 1 April 2023. kyivpost.com.
  23. Web site: Spain, Portugal and Morocco to host FIFA World Cup in 2030 with centenary matches in South America. Dan. Palmer. 4 October 2023. Inside the Games.
  24. Web site: 19 March 2024. Cristiano Ronaldo and Iniesta Ambassadors for The 2030 World Cup. www.beinsports.com/.
  25. Web site: المغرب يكشف قائمة المُدن والملاعب المرشحة لاحتضان كأس العالم 2030 منها الملعب الكبير للدار البيضاء الذي يتسع إلى 93 ألف متفرج . 2023-06-27 . assahifa.
  26. Web site: Spanish Venues and Sub-Venues for the FIFA World Cup 2030 Bid. 19 July 2024.
  27. Web site: Portugal chooses venues for 2030 World Cup. 20 March 2024. www.thestadiumbusiness.com/.
  28. Web site: 2030 FIFA World Cup slogan, visual identity of Morocco-Portugal-Spain bid unveiled. 19 March 2024. www.msn.com.