The world's football governing body, according to The Athletic, revealed that it handed the opening games to South American nations as part of its preparation for the tournament's 100th anniversary.
Uruguay hosted the first FIFA World Cup in 1930, and went on to win the competition, defeating Argentina 4-2 in the final.
"Uruguay hosted and won the inaugural World Cup in 1930, and Argentina were the beaten finalists, while the headquarters of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) are in Paraguay." CONMEBOL was the sole confederation in existence at the time of the 1930 tournament,” The Athletic said.
The tournament, for the first time, will be held across multiple continents: Europe, Africa, and South America.
Morocco will host the tournament for the first time and become the second African country to host the Mundial after South Africa hosted the 2010 edition. Similarly, Portugal will also be a first-time host.
Reacting to the announcement, CONMEBOL president, Alejandro Dominguez, in a post on X, lauded FIFA for awarding opening games to the association.
His words: “We believed in Big. The 2030 Centennial World Cup begins where it all began. Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay will host the opening matches of #MundialCentenario”