2030 World Cup: dates, countries, format, qualifying — what is confirmed

Updated on 16 October 2026

Four deadlines announced for the summer and autumn of 2026 have now passed. What has changed since the 30 August version:

• 64 teams — the report commissioned from an independent agency was due on 11 September 2026. No conclusion has been published, and FIFA has announced no date for a Council vote.
• UEFA format — the Executive Committee did meet on 15 September 2026. It adopted the Nations League transition, but not the detailed 2030 qualifying format.
• Final venue — according to Mundo Deportivo (2 October 2026), FIFA would not decide before 2028. That is not a FIFA statement.
• CAF, AFC, OFC — still no format, no quotas and no dates as of 16 October 2026.

The established facts

• Host countries: Spain, Portugal and Morocco — chosen by acclamation at FIFA’s extraordinary Congress of 11 December 2024. It is the first World Cup played in six countries and across three continents.
• Centenary matches: three opening matches in Uruguay (Montevideo), Argentina and Paraguay, marking 100 years since the first edition (Uruguay 1930). For Argentina and Paraguay, FIFA has designated neither a stadium nor a city: the bid proposed Buenos Aires and Asunción.
• Automatic qualifiers: the six host countries. FIFA confirmed this for the three South American countries as early as October 2023. They will still play the CONMEBOL qualifiers, for the standings and for a future intercontinental competition under discussion with UEFA.
• Format: 48 teams, as in 2026. A move to 64 teams remains officially under study. In late July 2026 FIFA launched the appointment of an independent agency (choice announced for 14 August, report due 11 September 2026) to assess competition dilution, calendar congestion, operational complexity and expected revenue. As of 16 October 2026 no conclusion has been published and no vote is scheduled. UEFA and the AFC have both stated their opposition publicly. The procedure in detail: 48 or 64 teams in 2030?

The dates (provisional)

FIFA has not published the full schedule. These are the dates carried by Sky Sports and Al Jazeera in July 2026:

Stage	Date
Centenary ceremony + 3 matches in South America	8–9 June 2030
Official opening ceremony	13 June 2030
First matches in Spain, Portugal and Morocco	13–14 June 2030
Final	Sunday 21 July 2030

What is not decided

• The final venue (Bernabéu, Camp Nou or Hassan II), the opening match, the semi-finals. On 2 October 2026 Mundo Deportivo wrote, citing anonymous sources, that FIFA would announce nothing before 2028; FIFA itself has given no date. Our tracking: 2030 final: what FIFA actually says
• The split of matches between the three countries.
• The definitive stadium list (FIFA approval expected late 2026 – early 2027).
• The number of teams (48 or 64) and therefore the number of matches (104 or 128).
• The draw, ticketing, the official emblem and the volunteer programme: no dates at all.

Qualifying, confederation by confederation

• CONCACAF — calendar published on 6 February 2026: first round in September–October 2027, final round in June 2028 and September–October 2029, play-off in November 2029. Up to seven qualifiers.
• CONMEBOL — qualifiers expected from September–October 2027 (the three hosts take part).
• UEFA — a new two-league format, approved in principle by the Executive Committee meeting in Istanbul on 20 May 2026. League 1: the 36 nations from Leagues A and B of the Nations League, in three groups of 12 drawn from three pots of 12, each team playing six home-or-away matches against six different opponents. League 2: the remaining 18 or 19 nations, in three groups of 6 (or one of 7). The best-ranked team in each League 1 group qualifies directly; the remaining places go through play-offs that are open to League 2 nations. The Executive Committee of 15 September 2026, in Thessaloniki, adopted the Nations League transition to three leagues of 18 from 2028/29 (UEFA circular 58/2026 of 18 September 2026) but did not publish the detailed 2030 qualifying format: as of 16 October 2026 the 20 May concept is still the reference.
• CAF, AFC, OFC — no format, quotas or dates announced as of 16 October 2026.

The allocation of places by confederation for 2030 has not been published; the 2026 breakdown (16 UEFA, 9 CAF, 8 AFC, 6 CONCACAF, 6 CONMEBOL, 1 OFC + 2 play-offs) does not automatically apply to 2030.

Who is organising it

There is no single organising committee. Three national bodies are working with FIFA: the Morocco 2030 Foundation (created by Law 35.25, based in Rabat, chaired in practice by Fouzi Lekjaa, appointed by the King in October 2023), the Spanish inter-ministerial commission (Royal Decree 99/2025 of 18 February 2025) and the Portuguese authorities. The opening of a permanent FIFA office in Spain had been announced for autumn 2026: no opening has been confirmed as of 16 October 2026.

On this site

Every official announcement is carried through to our stadium pages and news items, with its source and date. This guide is reviewed with each FIFA decision: the date it was last updated appears at the top of the page, and what changed is listed at the start.