April 10 – Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay have agreed on the 12 cities they want for the centenary World Cup in 2030 should they win the right to host, but are not naming them yet.
The Argentine Football Association said the plan involved eight venues in Argentina and two each in Paraguay and Uruguay.
Bidding is not due to open for another four years but it has been an open secret that South America would be clear favourites 100 years after Uruguay staged the first World Cup. Initially it had been anticipated that Uruguay and Argentina would bid to stage it jointly but Paraguay later joined in.
Argentine soccer officials said they met with national captain Lionel Messi during a recent trip to Spain.
“At all times we found (Messi) willing to help us spread the word about the possibility that the three countries organize the World Cup,” Argentina’s Sport Secretary Carlos Mac Allister said. “It’s very important for us to feel that we have the support of players and that it is completely unattached from any political connotation.”
So far, the co-organisers have not said how much the tournament would cost if they were to win the bid.
“Today, we can’t say what the final costs will be to each of our countries, but it cannot be measured only in the building of infrastructure,” Uruguay Sports Secretary Fernando Caceres said.
“There’s an intangible measure, which is how much a country earns in coexistence, in integration, identity, and the construction of citizenship by hosting an event of this magnitude.”
Although no other bids have been announced for the 2030 tournament, it is expected that Europe will put forward a candidate to take on the South Americans. UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin has already indicated that he would favour an European bid, possibly from England, but nothing concrete has yet emerged. China has also been mooted but are likely to keep their powder dry until 2034.
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