The 2030 World Cup will be held across six countries in three continents, Fifa has confirmed.
Spain, Portugal and Morocco have been named as the co-hosts, with the opening three matches taking place in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
The opening matches in South America are to mark the World Cup’s centenary as it will be 100 years since the inaugural tournament in Montevideo.
The decision is set to be ratified at a Fifa congress next year.
Fifa also confirmed only bids from countries from the Asian Football Confederation and the Oceania Football Confederation will be considered for the 2034 finals.
Following that decision, Saudi Arabia announced it would be bidding to host the tournament in 2034 for the first time.
The deadline for prospective hosts to submit confirmations of interest is 31 October.
Fifa’s decision to host the 2030 tournament across multiple continents has drawn criticism, with one supporter’s body accusing football’s world governing body of engaging in a “cycle of destruction against the greatest tournament on Earth”.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino said: “In a divided world, Fifa and football are uniting.
Portugal, Spain and Uruguay – welcoming and uniting the world while celebrating together the beautiful game, the centenary and the Fifa World Cup.”
Montevideo in Uruguay, the city which hosted the first World Cup match in 1930, is poised to stage the opening game in 2030 with matches in Argentina and Paraguay to follow.
The rest of the 48-team tournament will then move to north Africa and Europe.
