World Cup Hosts: The Present, the Past and the Future
Awarding a country the right to become a World Cup host is in football the ultimate honour. Countries spend millions on their campaigns and often ask the help of celebrities and politicians to aid their bid. There is also a dark side to the process, with accusations of corruption never far away. Join us to explore the World Cup hosts of the present, the past and the future.
Qatar: World Cup Hosts 2022
When the now-disgraced FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter announced on Thursday, December 2nd 2010, that Qatar had won the rights to host the 2022 World Cup finals, it was an announcement that shook the footballing world, and left World Cup fans in disarray.
In the Qatari capital, Doha, residents understandably flocked to the packed streets, and the sound of car horns and people celebrating could be heard for miles and well into the night. With a population of just 1.7 million, the tiny nation was set to join the likes of the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Spain and England to become a football World Cup host. For comparison, London alone has a population of 8.96 million, and the last host, Russia, has 144.1m citizens.
In its successful campaign, Qatar had beaten Japan, South Korea, Australia and the United States, who had all lodged bids to become the World Cup 2022 host. Originally the 2022 World Cup was planned to take place in the traditional summer months of June and July but was changed when concerns were raised over the heat in the country. Despite Qatar’s plans of building air-conditioned stadiums, it was decided that fans would be placed at risk, and the tournament was moved to the winter months of November and December. It is a move that will impact top-flight club football, including the Premier League.
A positive of holding the tournament in such a small country is that fans and players do not have far to travel between games. The distance between the eight stadiums is the shortest distance since the 46 miles (75km) involved in the 16-team 1978 World Cup in Argentina.
The decision to add Qatar and Russia to the list of FIFA World Cup host countries has been controversial, with many suspecting football’s governing body of being guilty of fraud at the time. The British press’ objections to England’s bid only receiving two votes was called being “bad losers” by Blatter. When Qatar was announced as a World Cup host, he attracted further controversy by saying, “I would say they [gay fans] should refrain from any sexual activities” when addressing Qatar’s stance on homosexuality which makes it illegal in the country. Sepp Blatter and other members of FIFA would later be barred from football activities after being found guilty of breaking the ethics code for “accepting and receiving extraordinary bonuses” while being the president of FIFA.
World Cup Hosts List
There have been 19 different FIFA World Cup host countries since the first one was held in Uruguay in 1930. However, Mexico will be the only country to have held the final on three occasions when the World Cup moves on from Qatar in 2026. The South American country is hosting the tournament alongside the USA and Canada. Here is the World Cup hosts list of all tournaments since 1930;
- Argentina: 1978
- Brazil: 1950, 2014
- Canada: 2026
- Chile: 1962
- England: 1966
- France: 1938, 1998
- Germany: 1974 (as West Germany), 2006
- Italy: 1934, 1990
- Japan: 2002
- Mexico: 1970, 1986, 2026
- Qatar: 2022
- Russia: 2018
- South Africa: 2010
- South Korea: 2002
- Spain: 1982
- Sweden: 1958
- Switzerland: 1954
- United States: 1994, 2026
- Uruguay: 1930
With Asia hosting in 2022 (Qatar) and North America in 2026 (USA, Canada & Mexico), that leaves the 2030 host opportunity to go to Africa, Europe or South America. This is due to FIFA’s World Cup rotation policy.
You’ll notice that there hasn’t been a tournament in Oceania yet – however that is set to change with the Women’s World Cup taking place in July 2023, with Australia and New Zealand cast as joint hosts of the tournament. You can find out more about the best Women’s World Cup betting sites in our in-depth guide.
The Next World Cup Hosts 2026
After Qatar, the next World Cup hosts will be the United States, Mexico, and Canada after the trio beat Morocco by 134-64 votes in the last round of bidding. FIFA produced a bid evaluation report, and the winning bid, known as ‘United 2026’, scored 4.0 out of five compared to Morocco’s score of 2.7. The money expected to be raised by holding the World Cup was much higher for the winning bid.
When the United States, Mexico and Canada host the World Cup 2026 tournament, they are projected to earn $14 billion, double the $7 billion estimated if Morrocco had won. The 2026 World Cup will make history as the only World Cup that three countries have hosted. It is unclear if the hosts will automatically qualify for the finals at this stage.
The next World Cup will also see the expansion of the competition, with the number of teams increasing from the current 32 to 48. Of the 60 games that will be played, America will see the lion’s share of the action, hosting 40 games including the quarterfinals, semi-finals, and the final. The FIFA World Cup 2026 final venue has not been officially confirmed, although the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey is certainly a frontrunner.
The 48 teams will be divided into 16 groups of three to incorporate the additional teams. The top two in each group will progress to a knockout round of 32. However, critics of this format have suggested it is unbalanced and gives an advantage to a team that features in the opening game, as they will know if they won their opening game, they only need a point to progress.
On the flip side, supporters of the format say that 16 extra teams have the opportunity to play at the finals, with only an additional 16 matches needing to be played.
Find out more about each team in the 2022 World Cup and pick your best 11 by using our world cup squad builder.
