WELCOME TO MY SANDBOX - I use this space mostly to write fantasy articles about speculative and/or future events or just as a testing ground. None of the information stated in these fantasy articles is necessarily factual. Again, I like to speculate. I especially love football, so lots of that stuff will be here. Right now, I am working on a potential 2030 FIFA World Cup set in England and Scotland - the real-life bid will most likely include all the Home Nations, however.
Venues
editA total of 24 venues were selected for the World Cup; 19 are located within England whilst the remaining five are located in Scotland. All venues were guaranteed to host three group-stage matches and at least one knockout-round match. Each group was allocated two venues in proximity to each other to avoid longer trips during the group stage. Seeded teams played in the same ground for the duration of the group stage. Murrayfield Stadium, usually reserved for rugby union matches, would host a major football tournament for the very first time. Twickenham Stadium in London was in the shortlist presented with the bid, but it was ultimately removed along with Emirates Stadium. Had it been chosen, Twickenham would have hosted the first football match in its history. Other venues that did not make the final selection include Bramall Lane, Etihad Stadium, Ibrox Stadium, and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Several of the venues had to be significantly upgraded to host games, with Easter Road and Pittodrie Stadium having to add at least ten thousand seats in order to be eligible. Nottingham's City Ground was also redeveloped after Nottingham Forest was promoted to the Premier League in 2025. Other venues that received substantial upgrades include Carrow Road and Elland Road.
England | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
London | Manchester | Liverpool | Newcastle upon Tyne | Leeds | |
Wembley Stadium | London Stadium | Old Trafford | Anfield | St James' Park | Elland Road |
Capacity: 90,000 | Capacity: 60,000 | Capacity: 74,140 | Capacity: 53,394 | Capacity: 52,205 | Capacity: 50,000 (expanded) |
Sunderland | Birmingham | Nottingham | Middlesbrough | Leicester | Sheffield |
Stadium of Light | Villa Park | City Ground | Riverside Stadium | Filbert Way | Hillsborough Stadium |
Capacity: 49,000 | Capacity: 47,000 (expanded) | Capacity: 46,000 (expanded) | Capacity: 42,000 (expanded) | Capacity: 40,000 (expanded) | Capacity: 39,732 |
England |
London | ||||
Norwich | Derby | Coventry | Brighton | ||
Carrow Road | Pride Park Stadium | Coventry Arena | Falmer Stadium | ||
Capacity: 37,137 (expanded) | Capacity: 33,597 | Capacity: 32,753 | Capacity: 31,800 | ||
Milton Keynes | Ipswich | Stoke | |||
Stadium MK | Portman Road | Stoke Ground | |||
Capacity: 30,500 | Capacity: 30,311 | Capacity: 30,089 | |||
Scotland | |||||
Edinburgh | Glasgow | Aberdeen | |||
Murrayfield Stadium | Easter Road | Celtic Park | Hampden Park | Pittodrie Stadium | |
Capacity: 67,144 | Capacity: 30,421 (expanded) | Capacity: 60,411 | Capacity: 51,866 | Capacity: 31,000 (expanded) | |
Scotland |
Edinburgh |
Glasgow |