South East Asian Nations Plan Joint 2030 WC Bid

According to the Foreign Ministers of Malaysia and Singapore, the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), which represents the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is preparing to table a bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

The AFF is hoping that the tournament could be spread across a number of countries to ease the financial burden on any individual territory and although FIFA is thought to favour bids from individual countries, Argentina and Uruguay have already registered an interest in linking up to stage the centenary World Cup in 2030.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman claims that the AFF’s 11 nations have agreed to create a committee to research and promote their bid, stating: “It will be a unifying factor for the ASEAN community if we could host the World Cup.”

Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo told the Today newspaper: “We thought if we made a joint bid, if we share facilities, then it’s a bearable cost. ASEAN, as a whole, will be a big country like Brazil or the United States and if they can host it so can we.”