FIFA to visit potential 2030 World Cup host cities in November and December

File Photo: Three host nations, one tournament: inspectors are about to start weighing up the candidates. | Photo Credit: AP

World football’s governing body announced on Tuesday that it will send delegations to potential host cities in Spain, Portugal and Morocco in November and December, as part of choosing venues for the 2030 World Cup.

Inspectors will tour candidate cities and stadiums in all three countries to judge whether they are suited to staging matches.

FIFA has not yet said which venues will make the final list, nor where the World Cup final will be played. Spain and Morocco are both competing to stage the showpiece game.

ALSO READ: FIFA suspends Egypt coach Hassan and forward Zico for three and five matches

The planned visits cover Agadir, Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, Rabat and Tangier in Morocco, Lisbon and Porto in Portugal, and Barcelona, Bilbao, Las Palmas, Madrid, San Sebastian, Seville and Zaragoza in Spain. FIFA noted that further venues could be visited as the process continues.

Which matches and what types of fixtures, each venue receives will be decided only once the host city list is final and the tournament schedule is further along, FIFA added.

Separately, the opening three games of the tournament will be played in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, marking 100 years since the first World Cup, held in Uruguay in 1930.