Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay officially announce on Tuesday their joint candidacy to host the 2030 World Cup, coinciding with the centenary of the competition, which was first held in Montevideo.
The official announcement of this joint nomination will be made today at the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, where the final match between Uruguay and Argentina (4:2) took place in 1930.
The joint nomination of the four countries also aims to host the 2030 final match at the same stadium.
“As the World Cup celebrates its centenary, it must return to its home country, South America,” CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez tweeted.
“For us, this should be called the 2030 Centenary World Cup,” said Uruguayan Sports Minister Sebastian Bausa.
He added: “We have to focus on the centenary of the World Cup. The 100th anniversary of the first World Cup will be celebrated here. Back to the legend, back to the roots!”
The Football Association of Uruguay has said that Uruguay, along with Argentina, Paraguay and Chile, will put forward its candidacy to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup on 2 August.
The 2030 World Cup will mark 100 years since the first World Cup was held in Uruguay. pic.twitter.com/yDHGOjSrqO
— Roy Nemer (@RoyNemer) July 27, 2022
The four countries pledged more than three years ago to set up a local organizing committee to coordinate with the game’s governing body in South America to plan its promotion.
This will be the sixth World Cup held in South America, after 1930 (Uruguay), 1950 (Brazil), 1962 (Chile), 1978 (Argentina) and 2014 (Brazil).
The South American file will face the joint nomination of Spain and Portugal, which they announced in June 2021.
The UK and Ireland have dropped another joint bid to focus on hosting the 2028 European Cup.
It is also reported that negotiations are underway for a joint nomination of candidates between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain.
The first edition in 1930 featured only 13 teams and the entire tournament was played in the capital, Montevideo, in just three stadiums.
As for the 2030 tournament, 48 teams will take part, and the four South American candidates for the tournament expect to play their matches in 15 stadiums.
For the first time, the number of countries designated for the event reaches four, given that the 2026 event will be held in three countries: the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Source: AFP