Ukraine joins Spain and Portugal’s bid to organize the World Cup in 2030. The Spanish and Portuguese federations announced this Wednesday.
“The project should inspire society with a message of solidarity and hope,” the football associations said during a joint press conference at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland.
UEFA supports the candidacy of the three football associations. They will face a joint nomination from Egypt, Greece and Saudi Arabia and a joint initiative from South America with Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile.
The 2030 World Cup will be allocated during the FIFA 2024 Conference. There are 211 unions that will vote on the bids. This year’s World Football Championship will be held in Qatar, and after four years the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the organizing countries.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Since then, the Ukrainian national team has played its international matches elsewhere in Europe. In June, the country plus a World Cup ticket won the Wales qualifier.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Spain and Portugal to include Ukraine in their joint bid. According to various media, the intention is for Ukraine to organize a number of group matches, although this was not confirmed on Wednesday.
