How long until 2030 FIFA World Cup?

When Does the 2030 World Cup Start?

June 8, 2030, running through July 21 — a 44-day tournament, the longest in World Cup history, built around its spread across three continents.

A Centenary Tournament, Six Countries

Morocco, Portugal and Spain will co-host the main tournament, confirmed by FIFA in December 2024. To mark 100 years since the first World Cup, three opening centenary matches are scheduled for the weekend of June 8–9 in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay — the same three countries tied to the original 1930 edition, which Uruguay hosted and won.

Where the Games Will Be Played

FIFA approved 23 proposed stadiums across the three main hosts: Spain brings the largest share with 11 venues, Morocco has 6 across six cities, and Portugal has 3 across two cities. The exact final list is expected to be ratified around December 2026.

Morocco's centrepiece is a newly built stadium outside Casablanca, the Grand Stade Hassan II, designed for a 115,000-capacity crowd — which would make it the largest football stadium in the world if it holds that figure. It is one of the favourites to host the final, alongside Spain's renovated Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid and Barcelona's Camp Nou, though FIFA has not yet confirmed the final's venue.

For Spain, it will be the country's first World Cup in 48 years. For Portugal and Morocco, it will be their first time hosting the tournament outright. The multi-continent format has also drawn criticism from environmental groups over the long-haul travel it requires of teams and fans.

The tournament keeps the 48-team, expanded format introduced at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, up from 32 teams at every edition before that. It follows directly on from that 2026 tournament, which wrapped up in July.

Six nations have already locked in automatic places as hosts: Morocco, Portugal and Spain, plus centenary hosts Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The other 42 spots will be split among the confederations through qualifying campaigns expected to run from 2027 through 2029, using the same 12-group, 48-team structure as 2026 — the top two from each group plus the eight best third-place finishers advance to a 32-team knockout bracket. FIFA has said it will confirm the exact confederation quotas once the 2026 tournament concludes.