Find out which Portuguese stadiums will be able to host the 2030 World Cup

The stadiums of Benfica, Porto and Sporting will be the Portuguese stadiums of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which was organized this Wednesday by the candidate of Iberian-Moroccan origin, accompanied by the South Americans of Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.

The Da Luz Stadium in Lisbon, Portugal’s largest sports venue, with a capacity of around 65,000 spectators, the Dragao Stadium in Porto and the José Alvalade Stadium, also in the capital, both have a capacity of around 50,000. The only national venues that meet FIFA’s requirements for hosting World Cup matches and are part of a project unanimously approved this Wednesday by the Council of football’s governing body.

According to the specifications of the World Cup organization, candidate stadiums must have a minimum of 80,000 seats for the finals and opening ceremonies, 60,000 for games from the quarter-finals onwards, and the remaining seats of at least 40,000.

These arenas not only belong to the “big” three, but are also heirs to Euro 2004, the largest football competition ever held in Portugal, and were built to host the tournament.

At the time, Dragao hosted the first game and Luz the final – both clashes between Portugal and Greece with a favorable outcome for Greece – and Alvalade hosted the semi-final between Quinas and the Netherlands.

In addition to the UEFA Euro 2004 final, Lisbon hosted another world championship decider, the 2004 FIFA U-20 World Cup, in 1991 at the old Estádio da Luz, where Portugal became double champions, defeating Brazil in the final (0–0). , 4–2 on penalties), about 120,000 spectators gathered in the stands.

Other championships were organized in Portugal, all of which were under the jurisdiction of UEFA and did not carry the same weight, such as the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in 2003 and the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in 2006, as well as the final stage of the first championship Europe. Nations League won by Kinas in 2019.

Several organizations on Portuguese soil were under the “tutorship” of UEFA, with particular attention paid to the three Champions finals in the 2013/14 season (Atlético Madrid – Real Madrid), in the 2019/20 season (Bayern Munich – Paris Saint-Germain) and in the 2020/21 season (Chelsea-Manchester City).

The first two finals of this “Championship” were played at the Estádio da Luz, in the 2019/20 season Portugal hosted all games from the quarter-finals onwards in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the last final was played at the Estádio da Luz. make Dragao.

Still using the model of the European Cup, UEFA’s largest club competition and predecessor to the current Champions League, the National Stadium in Oeiras also hosted the 1967 final, in which Celtic beat Inter Milan (2–1).

In total, with one Cup Winners’ Cup final and two UEFA Cup finals, one of which consisted of two matches, a European Super Cup, two Intercontinental Cups and an International Youth Tournament, Portugal has hosted 16 “finals” in the country.

The special feature of the 2030 World Cup is that for the first time the World Cup will host matches between Portugal and Morocco, while Spain will repeat this competition after organizing the competition in 1982 in the 24th edition, which will host games in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay . , as a way to celebrate the centenary of the first tournament held on Uruguayan soil.

It will be the first time the World Cup will be shared between six countries since the first of three will be held in 2026, with Canada, Mexico and the United States co-hosting.

The only joint organization so far was led by South Korea and Japan at the 2002 World Cup.

The Iberian candidacy began in October 2020 and two years later, following the Russian invasion, was extended to Ukraine, which was eventually replaced by Morocco last March.

Portugal will make their World Cup debut after hosting Euro 2004, Spain Euro 1964 and the 1982 World Cup, while Morocco previously hosted the African Cup of Nations (CAN) in 1988.