Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay on Tuesday launched their joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup, the first among four countries.
The authorities of these countries will officially nominate themselves at the Centenario Stadium, in Montevideo, where Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 in the final of the 1930 World Cup, becoming the first world champion.
The presidents of each candidate association, along with the president of CONMEBOL, Alejandro Dominguez, as well as the respective Ministers of Sports, will display the “World Centenary” stamp.
The desire to bring the trophy back to South America has been around for a long time and its design began between Uruguay and Argentina. In 2017, before a match between the qualifiers, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi stood by the numbers on their jerseys formed 2030, kicking off a campaign that later added Chile and Paraguay.
This year, in mid-June, after chairing a meeting of the representatives of the four countries in Asuncion to set up a working table, the Vice-President of Paraguay, Hugo Velázquez, noted that the aim was to “turn to history and, above all, what football represents in this part of the continent.
Dominguez also stressed the same point: “When 100 years are completed, the World Cup should go back to its home country, South America,” the CONMEBOL president tweeted.
– Strong competitor –
Spain and Portugal are the only contenders at the moment, having nominated themselves in June 2021. Morocco, which was initially going to join the Iberian countries, can apply on its own, but has not officially done so yet.
Similarly, the United Kingdom and Ireland abandoned the idea of another joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup in February and turned their attention to the 2028 European Championship.
In October 2021, the Israeli government stated that FIFA President Gianni Infantino had launched the idea that the country could organize the 2030 World Cup with other countries in the region led by the United Arab Emirates.
To date, most of the World Cup tournaments have been held in Europe. Before the 2014 World Cup, in Brazil, the last edition was in South America in 1978, in Argentina.
The United States, Mexico and Canada will host the 2026 World Cup, the first time with three countries together.
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© AFP
