FIFA President Gianni Infantino has thanked football associations and confederations for reaching a "historical agreement" as the bid books from the seven FIFA Member Associations bidding to host the FIFA World Cup™ in 2030 and 2034 were handed over in a special event in Paris, France. Mr Infantino added that the two tournaments will be a "celebration of unity and a celebration of football".

Following extensive consultation with all confederations, the FIFA Council unanimously agreed in October 2023 that the sole candidate for the FIFA World Cup 2030™ would be the combined bid of the member associations of Morocco, Portugal, and Spain, with one match to be played in each of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to celebrate the tournament’s Centenary. Additionally, the FIFA Council agreed that the 2034 edition would be hosted by either the Asian Football Confederation or the Oceania Football Confederation. Following this, the only bid submitted came from the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF).

As bid books were delivered, the FIFA President expressed his gratitude to everyone involved for avoiding what could have been a "fierce" bidding process.

"I would like, first of all, to thank the presidents of the six confederations of FIFA who have come together and discussed with me, together with all the bidding countries here present, a historic agreement,” the FIFA President said. “We always say that football unites the world. FIFA is, as you know, an association of 211 member associations, 211 countries, more than the United Nations, and we try to bring them all together and to unite them all,” he said on stage where he was accompanied by the FIFA World Cup trophy. “But we know that when there is something at stake, like this incredible trophy here, then there is no unity, there is no brotherhood, there is no friendship, everyone wants to fight at its best to win the trophy, to win the (FIFA) World Cup on the field, but also when it comes to winning, the right of hosting the (FIFA) World Cup, we know that the discussions are very fierce. This time we managed to bring together seven member associations, so my thanks go to all seven of you from four different continents, for what will be a celebration of football and a celebration of unity. He added: “Everyone at the FIFA Council within the FIFA membership has understood and, more importantly, embraced that the World Cup belongs to the world… and that’s why it’s important to go in every part of the world to embrace the entire world and to bring people together.”

Portuguese Football Association President Fernando Gomes said that sustainability, investment and social inclusion were all key pillars of the 2030 bid together with Morocco and Spain. “These three nations have different languages, cultures, ideas and ways of being. But we share the same passion, which is football, so in that respect, the main element of our bid is our passion for football,” he said. “We will do everything in our power to make this (FIFA) World Cup the benchmark, not only in celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first edition of this tournament but also looking to the future.”

Uruguay hosted the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930, when 13 teams took part, and Ignacio Alonso, the President of the Uruguayan Football Association, said the 2030 bid for the three matches in South America “combines the celebration of 100 years since the first (FIFA) World Cup with being innovative, cutting across six countries on three continents, and it is a celebration, three continents, six countries and a global message of unity”.

Looking further ahead to 2034, the SAFF President Yasser Al Misehal said that hosting the tournament would be a dream for his country. “We are a passionate country that loves the game and it’s a great opportunity to show all the football fans around the world how much we love this game,” he said. “We were the champions of the AFC Asian Cup 40 years ago. We have hosted FIFA tournaments [FIFA Confederations Cup and FIFA Club World Cup] and a youth world cup [FIFA World Youth Championship] in 1989, so we are very familiar with this game. And, now, it’s a great opportunity for us to show all the world Saudi Arabia’s development and the success, the achievements, – that we are enjoying as Saudi people.”

After the official submission deadline on 31 July 2024, the bid books and accompanying documents will be published on FIFA.com. FIFA will thoroughly assess the bid books and publish its evaluation report in Q4 2024. Should the relevant hosting requirements be met, the Extraordinary FIFA Congress will subsequently take a decision on the appointment of the hosts for the 2030 and 2034 editions of the FIFA World Cup later this year.