Argentina/Uruguay Plan Joint Centenary Bid for 2030 WC

A potential joint bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup has been supported by the governments of Argentina and Uruguay in an attempt to bring the event back to South America, and Uruguay who hosted the first edition of the quadrennial tournament 100 years previous in 1930.

The host nation of the first ever FIFA World Cup went on to defeat Argentina 4-2 in the final and lift the trophy. Since then, Argentina have also triumphed on home soil, winning the tournament in 1978 and the Foreign Ministers of both countries have now placed their full support behind a tilt at 2030.

Argentina’s Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, is quoted by Reuters, saying: “We have agreed to set up a bi-national committee to support the initiative together with the national football associations to promote the candidature of Argentina and Uruguay for the 2030 World Cup.”

Argentina Football Association president Julio Grondona has also welcomed the news, but has warned that the financial considerations of staging a World Cup would need to be studied carefully.

Grondona told Argentine newspaper La Nacion: “I believe that we can be well-placed to host it, we will just have to see what demands are put on us. We would not hold a tournament which will enslave our country. If the demands are more than we can meet, it is best not to go through with it.”