The President of CONMEBOL and FIFA Vice President, Alejandro Domínguez, has thanked FIFA for taking a historic decision by awarding the hosting rights for the FIFA World Cup 2030™ to Morocco, Portugal and Spain, with the opening three ‘centenary celebration’ matches in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The tournament will kick off in Uruguay in the same stadium which hosted the final match of the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup™. “I want to congratulate all of you [for] the most important decision in the history of football, and in this historic moment, we remember that… the last match of the 1930 [FIFA World Cup] was played at the Centenario, and in 2030, the first match of the centenary [edition] will be played at the Centenario, in Uruguay,” Mr Domínguez told the Extraordinary FIFA Congress.

The President of the Uruguayan Football Association and FIFA Council member, Ignacio Alonso, added: “We speak on behalf of a small, yet great country. A country that is proud to belong to the football community, from the very first moment that football arrived in South America.” Recalling the Uruguay team which won the Olympic Games football tournaments in 1924 and 1928 before also lifting the first-ever FIFA World Cup on home soil, he said: “We were also pioneers when we bid for and brought the idea of having the first World Cup ever.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino added: “That (FIFA) World Cup that took place in incredible fashion and exactly what FIFA had and has to do is celebrate this (FIFA) World Cup where it all began: in South America, in Uruguay.”

Defending champions Argentina will also host one match, having previously staged the tournament in 1978 when they won the first of their three world titles to date. “I would like to thank you again for this opportunity. And to tell you that we are all looking forward to seeing you in 2030 at the home of Alfredo Di Stéfano, Diego Armando Maradona, and Lionel Andrés Messi,” said Claudio Tapia, the President of the Argentinian Football Association.

Robert Harrison, the President of the Paraguayan Football Association, said it was a historic day for his country while the President of the country, Santiago Peña, added: “This achievement pays homage to our land and our people, known around the world for our hospitality, our warmth, and our unwavering passion for sport.”

Spain previously hosted the 1982 FIFA World Cup which had a profound impact on the country. “We remember so fondly the Naranjito [mascot] of this (FIFA) World Cup… a tournament that was a great step forward in modernising our country, which at the time was starting on the road to democracy,” said Maria de los Ángeles García Chaves, President of the Management Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation. “It opened our borders and also our ways of thinking. But a lot of time has passed since then and more than 40% of the current Spanish population had not been born when this (FIFA) World Cup was held. Our memories are videotapes, posters and little else. This is why we really wanted to be (FIFA) World Cup hosts once again.”

Fernando Gomes, President of the Portuguese Football Federation and FIFA Council member, stated that the decision honoured the country’s football history. “We believe that football has the power to make the world a better place. There is no better opportunity than a (FIFA) World Cup to promote diversity, inclusion and human rights as the foundation of the competition and with sustainability as a committed goal,” he said.

Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) President Fouzi Lekjaa said this was collaboration was a rare and special moment. “It’s a rich moment, in many ways, starting with global representation, rarely seen or acknowledged in other fields,” he said. “I would like to thank you for putting your trust in my country, Morocco, along with our two partners, Portugal and Spain, to collectively host the [FIFA] World Cup in 2030. This trust that you put in my country, by nominating it within this three-party candidacy, once again proves the progress made both in terms of specific preparations for the event and global growth for the country.”

Mr Infantino recalled that Morocco’s fans had made a huge impression at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ when their team became the first from Africa to reach the semi-finals. “Everyone knows the fans of Morocco. They are absolutely unique and fantastic,” he said. ”The people that will go to Morocco will be welcomed like nowhere else. It will be a huge celebration of humanity, of football, of togetherness.”