reader Posted October 4, 2023 Posted October 4, 2023 From the BBC Spain, Portugal and Morocco have been named as the co-hosts, with the opening three matches taking place in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. The opening matches in South America are to mark the World Cup's centenary as it will be 100 years since the inaugural tournament in Montevideo. The decision is set to be ratified at a Fifa congress next year. Fifa also confirmed only bids from countries from the Asian Football Confederation and the Oceania Football Confederation will be considered for the 2034 finals. Following that decision, Saudi Arabia announced it would be bidding to host the tournament in 2034 for the first time. Fifa's decision to host the tournament across multiple continents has drawn criticism, with one supporter's body accusing football's world governing body of engaging in a "cycle of destruction against the greatest tournament on Earth". "[It's] horrendous for supporters, disregards the environment and rolls the red carpet out to a host for 2034 with an appalling human rights record. It's the end of the World Cup as we know it," said Football Supporters Europe. Fifa president Gianni Infantino said: "In a divided world, Fifa and football are uniting alvnv and vinapu 2 Quote
