With the 2026 and 2030 events both featuring multiple hosts, here’s a look back at all of the nations that have hosted the biggest sporting event on the planet since its 1930 inception.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is already a couple of weeks old, with Saturday marking the final day of group stage play before the Round of 32 begins on Sunday.
This world cup is a historic one for several reasons, marking the first time three nations have split hosting duties while also serving as the first tournament to include 48 teams – a 16-team expansion over the 32-team field used in recent years.
The expansion of the field has allowed for several Cinderella stories to brew, with underdogs such as South Africa, Canada, Ivory Coast and Cape Verde all advancing to the knockout stage for the first time in their country’s history.
Hosting the FIFA World Cup is an opportunity and responsibility that can really only be compared to hosting the Olympics, with the entire sporting world’s attention locked in on the event for a month’s time – and the last quarter-century have shown how much the tournament has evolved in terms of which countries get to host.
Several historic breakthroughs have occurred in recent tournaments in this regard, beginning in 2002 with Japan and South Korea jointly hosting the event – marking the first time that the tournament was hosted by more than one country, a precedent that allowed the configurations for 2026 and 2030 to exist.
The World Cup has also made its way to more overlooked locations in recent tournament years, making its African debut in 2010 as South Africa served hosting duties, while Russia and Qatar got the opportunity to host in 2018 and 2022, respectively.
Big plans remain on the horizon for future tournaments, particularly in the next iteration of the World Cup, which will include matches played in an unprecedented six different countries.
While the bulk of the tournament will be split between Morocco, Portugal and Spain, special centenary matches will take place across the Atlantic Ocean in Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. The occasion will mark the 100th anniversary of the FIFA World Cup, recognizing the first tournament ever, which was held in Uruguay.
World Cup plans are in place through 2034, when the event will head to the Middle East for a second time as Saudi Arabia is slated to host the tournament for the first time ever.
With the tournament heading into the Round of 32 Sunday, here’s a look at where past events have been held since the FIFA World Cup was born in 1930:
*The FIFA World Cup was not held in 1942 or 1946 due to World War II
- 1930 – Uruguay
- 1934 – Italy
- 1938 – France
- 1950 – Brazil
- 1954 – Switzerland
- 1958 – Sweden
- 1962 – Chile
- 1966 – England
- 1970 – Mexico
- 1974 – West Germany
- 1978 – Argentina
- 1982 – Spain
- 1986 – Mexico (2)
- 1990 – Italy (2)
- 1994 – United States
- 1998 – France
- 2002 – Japan/South Korea
- 2006 – Germany (2)
- 2010 – South Africa
- 2014 – Brazil (2)
- 2018 – Russia
- 2022 – Qatar
- 2026 – United States (2)/Canada/Mexico (3)
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