Dilemma: Where will the 2038 World Cup be held?

2026-06-26 19:08 © AP

It's already clear where the next two world football championships will take place, apart from the current one, which is happening in North America.

In 2030, the action will move to Portugal, Spain, and Morocco, which is relatively close to the European part, despite being on its own continent. The first matches, meant to commemorate the championship anniversary, will be held in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay.

In 2034, the championship will take place on the Asian continent – in the wealthy Saudi Arabia.

FIFA has a rule to not host a championship on the same continent within 8 years, so the candidacies of Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia are excluded again.

Additionally, the championship has never been hosted in the same location within a 12-year period, so a repeat in the USA, Mexico, and Canada can also be dismissed. However, there isn’t a specific rule for this; it’s more of a trend.

Australia, which is financially capable and has good infrastructure, belongs to the Asian continent in football.

In that case, Oceania remains, where there are almost no suitable stadiums for the championship, and Central America, which would simply be financially incapable of hosting such a large-scale tournament.

Thus, in the upcoming years, FIFA will be forced to think about how to be flexible with the rules or to negate the trends by hosting the championship in the USA – again after 12 years, when it will be 2038.