Despite the joint bid of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, the Spain-Portugal proposal seems to have the advantage to host the most important sporting event in the world.
The governing body of football in Europe, known as UEFA, maintains a confident position that Spain and Portugal will provide the right infrastructure and environment to welcome the world in 2030. Considering the last World Cup of 2014 in South America organized For Brazil, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin believes that the quadrennial tournament will be shared by two countries from the Iberian Peninsula.
“I see it as a winning bet. We will do what we can to help in the candidacy”, affirmed Ceferin.
The history of Europe as host of World Cup tournaments
Also, the World Cup will come to North America in 2026 as the US, Canada and Mexico look forward to great opportunities to boost economies with soccer. Therefore, the return of FIFA 2030 to Europe, instead of America, seems very plausible. This year’s event will be held in the Middle East for the first time, showing that FIFA is open to bringing its ever-growing tournament to specific countries around the world that have not hosted it before.
The last time the Iberian Peninsula hosted was Spain 1982, where Paolo Rossi and the Azzurri won the World Cup for Italy. Therefore, the 2030 World Cup could be the first time in Portugal’s history as host. However, Portugal is no stranger to hosting a prestigious soccer tournament. The Atlantic coast country hosted Euro 2004, when Greece won the European Championship in notable fashion.
Since the dawn of the World Cup in 1930, South America has hosted the quadrennial event five times: Uruguay 1930, Brazil 1950, Chile 1962, Argentina 1978 and Brazil 2014. If Spain-Portugal wins the bid, Europe will mark its ninth record. time as host, depending on whether or not Russia counts as a transcontinental nation, despite its United Nations classifications as a European country.
For the 2030 FIFA World Cup, the offer includes a dozen Spanish stadiums and three in the Portuguese Republic.
