Football: 2030 World Cup Proposal
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
The 100th edition of the FIFA Men’s World Cup will, for the first time, be held across three continents: Europe, North Africa and South America. That is, in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, with the opening matches to be played in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, who were the inaugural winners of the tournament in 1930 and will host one game.
The Environmental Group, Fossil Free Football, has characterised the decision, to host the tournament across three continents, as a "climate nightmare".
But that is not all.
FIFA has received an official proposal by CONMEBOL, the South American Football Governing Body, to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams, to make the tournament more inclusive.
The 2026 edition, which will be played in the US, Canada and Mexico, will be the first time that 48 teams will participate.
The UEFA President, Aleksander Ceferin, has described the CONMEBOL proposal as a "bad idea"!
This proposal will be discussed at the 75th FIFA Congress, which will be held in Paraguay on 15 May 2025.
The proposal comes at a time when FIFPRO, the international football players’ union, on 14 October 2024, has filed a complaint to the European Union that the unilateral imposition by FIFA of an overcrowded international football calendar on national teams and clubs breaches European Union Competition Law. In particular, Article 102 (abuse of a dominant position) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
If this proposal is accepted by FIFA, the 2030 edition of the tournament would include 128 matches, adding to the already overcrowded international football calendar.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
