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Spain and Portugal on Wednesday (October 5th) included Ukraine in their joint bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
« Now it is no longer the Iberian candidacy “, formalized in June 2021, “ this is the European candidacy “, declared the president of the Spanish federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, during a press conference in Switzerland at the headquarters of UEFA with his Portuguese and Ukrainian counterparts.
For the centenary of the World Cup, launched in Uruguay in 1930, the three countries intend ” symbolize the unity of Europe “, with the support of UEFA, which hosted this press briefing, underlined Andriy Pavelko, the boss of Ukrainian football.
This possible co-organisation by three non-neighbouring countries raises a number of practical questions, from the preparation of infrastructures to the travel of players, media and supporters, illustrated in the summer of 2021 by the holding of Euro 2020 in eleven host cities throughout the continent. Ukraine has been embroiled in war since the Russian invasion last February.
And “ championship for peace »
The Spanish and Portuguese federations, supported by their respective governments, had until then relied on the traditional continental rotation of the tournament to win the World Cup-2030, after the 2022 edition in Qatar and that of 2026 shared between the United States, Canada and Mexico. .
Faced with this Iberian ticket and before a decision by Fifa expected in 2024, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay nevertheless represent strong opposition, with the prospect of bringing the World Cup back to South America where it was born. , and vibrates for football more than for any sport.
A third file, with much more hypothetical chances, could be invited into the competition since Egypt announced on September 9 that it was in consultation with Saudi Arabia and Greece. But in the meantime, the clash of the two official candidacies now takes on a new dimension, especially in a sporting world which reacted to the conflict in Ukraine by banning the Russians from most international competitions in the space of a few days.
« Ukraine cannot disappear from our memory after the end of the war (…) Helping Ukrainians means integrating them into projects of this dimension, giving them hope for the future “, Argued Fernando Gomes, the president of the Portuguese federation.
The head of the Spanish government, Pedro Sanchez, pleaded on Twitter for a ” championship for peace “, while his counterpart Antonio Costa intends to see this candidacy demonstrate “ the best values of Europe “. Spain is the only one of the three countries to have hosted the World Cup in 1982. And each organized the Euro: Spain in 1964, Portugal in 2004, and Ukraine in 2012 alongside Poland , before hosting the 2018 Champions League final at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv.
With AFP