Ukraine has reportedly joined Spain and Portugal’s bid to host the World Cup in 2030. The new alliance was announced by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) at a press conference held at the UEFA headquarters in Switzerland. UEFA is the governing body of soccer in Europe. The 2030 World Cup candidacy from Spain, Portugal, and Ukraine is supported by UEFA and will go up against other contenders like an alliance between Egypt, Greece, and Saudi Arabia, as well as a joint South American effort from Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, and Chile.
The decision on who will host the event in eight years will be made at the FIFA Congress in 2024, when the 211 member nations will vote on which group is best. After this winter’s World Cup in Qatar, the United States, Canada, and Mexico will work together to host the 2026 edition of the championship. By 2030, there will be 48 countries competing in the World Cup, an increase of 16 teams over the current structure. It will also be the first World Cup to feature 48 teams. Although the 2024 European Championships will be held in Germany, the 2028 event hosts have not yet been chosen.
In August of this year, it was announced that four countries—Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay—were working together to bring the World Cup back to South America. With the exception of Paraguay, every country has hosted the World Cup before, but not since the 1970s. The most recent World Cup to be held on the region was in Brazil in 2014.
Morocco will file a bid for the 2030 World Cup that may include a joint bid with Algeria and Tunisia, two neighboring African nations. This became known in 2018. Morocco’s attempts to host the World Cup in 1994, 1998, 2006, and 2010 were unsuccessful. Israel is preparing a new inter-confederation bid with potential allies Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Israel and the United Arab Emirates have hosted the Asia Cup for the past 60 years.
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