World Cup on three continents: “At some point we’ll play on Mount Everest”

ZURICH. A 2030 World Cup on three continents in six countries – FIFA is facing criticism after the decision, which must be confirmed by Congress. The opening game will take place in Uruguay, followed by two more games in Argentina and Paraguay. The remainder of the 101-game tournament will then be played in Morocco, Spain and Portugal.

“In 2030, we will experience a unique global football footprint. Three continents: Africa, Europe and South America; and six countries: Argentina, Morocco, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain and Uruguay, welcoming and uniting the world as they play football together “, celebrating the 100th anniversary and the FIFA World Cup,” said the controversial FIFA President Gianni Infantino enthusiastically about the final tournament, which, however, has consequences – also with a view to the 2034 World Cup.

Fans: In the worst case scenario, a team will have to play games in South America, Europe and Africa. This means time-consuming and expensive travel. It is also questionable whether these long distances will create a real World Cup atmosphere in the countries. “FIFA is continuing its vicious circle of destruction against the biggest tournament in the world,” criticized the association of European football fans FSE on the news platform X. Criticism also came from Leipzig coach Marco Rose. “We screw and screw and screw and come up with something new. At some point we’ll play on Mount Everest because we can conjure up a football pitch there and we can market it.”

Teams: The teams also face a logistical challenge, especially when it comes to the question of accommodation. A tricky task awaits the six teams that initially have the ball in South America.

Environment: In Qatar, FIFA advertised that the 2022 finals would be climate-neutral. For this she received a reprimand from the Swiss Fair Trade Commission (SLK) after there had been several complaints. The commission complained that FIFA had “created the false and misleading impression” that the World Cup in Qatar was already climate and CO2 neutral before and during the tournament. The tournament in Qatar took place in a very small space. This is different now. There was harsh criticism of the plans from Greenpeace. “FIFA is practicing fake climate protection. With homeopathic measures, such as waste separation and recycling, it pretends to protect the climate. At the same time, it is now forcing its athletes and fans to fly around the globe and thus further heating up our planet.” said Ursula Bittner, economic expert at the environmental protection organization in Austria. FIFA only has to host the World Cup in one country in times of drought and flooding.

World Cup 2034: The award in 2030 effectively paved the way for Saudi Arabia to host the event in 2034. Because the continents of Europe, South America and Africa are automatically out of the running due to the rotation principle. The North and Central America region is also out of the question because the USA, Canada and Mexico are already hosting in 2026. FIFA has already stipulated that only representatives from Asia and Oceania are allowed to apply. In Oceania, only Australia would be a candidate, although the Summer Olympics will already take place in Brisbane in 2032. And China could host such a tournament in Asia. However, enthusiasm for football has declined sharply there. Japan and South Korea hosted the event in 2002.

Finance: The money machine continues to run for FIFA. Revenues are expected to be at least $11 billion by 2026. It definitely won’t be any less after that. Ultimately, the World Cup will be held with 48 instead of 32 teams from 2026. And Saudi Arabia will certainly continue to invest heavily in football with the prospect of winning the World Cup. The Club World Cup will take place there in 2023.