FIFA is already set for historic expansion with the 2026 World Cup thanks to its three-nation hosting plan — but will push the envelope even further with six different host countries across three continents for 2030.

On Wednesday, the global soccer governing body announced its plan to have joint-bidders Morocco, Portugal, and Spain serve as the primary hosts of the 2030 World Cup. In addition, the tournament’s first three matches will be played in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup, which was staged in Uruguay.

This essentially doubles the scale of the 2026 framework — in which the U.S., Canada, and Mexico will co-host — and is designed to spread the tournament’s global reach as much as possible. 

FIFA began a co-hosting model for the World Cup in 2002 when Japan and South Korea shared that year’s event, then reverted to a more traditional framework for the subsequent five iterations, including the 2022 tournament in Qatar. The most recent Women’s World Cup also featured a two-nation hosting model, with Australia and New Zealand posting a series of event records.

“In a divided world, FIFA and football are uniting,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino. “What a great message of peace, tolerance, and inclusion.”

Not all agree, though, and fan advocacy group Football Supporters Europe blasted the 2030 decision, the increased travel required, and Saudi Arabia’s plan to bid for the 2034 World Cup.

“FIFA continues its cycle of destruction against the greatest tournament on earth,” the group said. “Horrendous for supporters, disregards the environment, and rolls out the red carpet out to a host for 2034 with an appalling human rights record. It’s the end of the World Cup as we know it.”

The six host countries for the 2030 World Cup will each receive automatic bids for the 48-team field.

The 2026 World Cup continues to experience its own drama. FIFA is expected to soon announce the schedule — and particularly which city will host the event final. The race for that coveted match is said to be between New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium and Texas’ AT&T Stadium. 

The WNBA will officially take its next step toward team expansion on Thursday ahead of the WNBA Finals, which begin in Las Vegas on Sunday.

A Bay Area group led by Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob reportedly has a deal in place for a 13th WNBA franchise, while a new report on Wednesday notes that the Bay Area team would join the league in 2025.

It’s likely that the WNBA will eventually add a 14th team to give the league an even number, but it’s uncertain when such an announcement, or more news regarding further expansion, will come.

Expanding to multiple new markets by 2025 has been a stated goal of WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Now, the question is: Which locations beyond the Bay Area should earn a franchise?

A shortlist of cities the WNBA has been considering includes Nashville, Toronto, Austin, Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Denver. Of those, only Charlotte has previously been home to a WNBA team. However, Toronto, Philadelphia, and Denver all have long-standing NBA teams and could mimic the dual-ownership model reported to be crystallizing in the Bay Area.

The last team to join the NBA was the Atlanta Dream in 2008. Since then, the former San Antonio Stars relocated to Las Vegas to become the Aces, and the former Detroit Shock moved first to Tulsa and then Dallas, where they were renamed the Wings.

The Tampa Bay Rays’ record-low turnout for their first 2023 playoff game has reinforced the local market issues surrounding the franchise since their debut more than a quarter-century ago. 

The Rays drew just 19,704 fans to Tropicana Field on Tuesday for their American League Wild Card Series opener against the Texas Rangers — the smallest non-pandemic crowd for an MLB postseason game since the 1919 World Series. 

The low draw was partly due to some external, league-driven factors. MLB scheduled the game for a 3:08 p.m. ET start, when many fans are at work or school, and its wild card slate wasn’t finalized until Sunday evening. 

But the latest figure also extends a long-running and troubling issue for the Rays, who have struggled to draw fans despite regularly fielding competitive teams. The Rays ended the 2023 regular season with MLB’s fourth-smallest total attendance, drawing 1.44 million and beating only Kansas City, Miami, and Oakland.

For many years, critics have pointed to the club’s playing on the west side of Tampa Bay, away from much of the region’s population base, as a critical drag on attendance. During the Rays’ recent announcement of a new stadium deal, team owner Stu Sternberg cited a changing St. Petersburg as a key reason to stay instead of building elsewhere in the area.

“This region, and especially this city, are growing up around us and are better equipped to support a Major League Baseball team,” Sternberg said.

The latest total challenges that notion and will likely be joined by a similar number on Wednesday, as the Rays had another afternoon start for Game 2 against the Rangers.