Spain and Portugal have formally submitted a joint bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, with the proposal to lean heavily on venues in the former country, according to Cadena SER.
The Spanish broadcaster, citing the official documents behind the bid, said the proposal is being drawn up on the basis of including 14 venues, 11 in Spain and three in Portugal, with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) now set to court interest in becoming a host city.
Spain’s Minister of Culture and Sport, Miquel Iceta, said the formalisation of the bid plan has developed from the “deep and historic relations between the two countries”.
The RFEF and FPF officially launched the joint bid in June 2021. The bid has been years in the making with Morocco, which was defeated by the bid from the United States, Mexico and Canada for the 2026 World Cup, having been earlier linked to joining up with Spain and Portugal.
Spain has hosted the World Cup on one previous occasion, in 1982, with the Iberian bid for 2030 set to come up against stiff competition in the shape of a South American proposal.
Earlier this month, a new 65,000-capacity stadium was proposed for the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as Bolivia aims to play a part in a bid that received its latest member, Chile, in March 2019. Along with Chile, the South American effort to return the football showpiece to the continent in 2030 also has Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay as members.
Political and sporting officials from the four countries gathered in Asunción, capital of Paraguay, yesterday (Thursday) for the latest meeting on the bid, which aims to commemorate Uruguay’s staging of the inaugural World Cup in 1930.
Vice-President of Paraguay, Hugo Velázquez, said that the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) has offered to help finance infrastructure development in the event of a successful bid, according to Depor.com.
Image: Fauzan Saari on Unsplash
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