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FIFA World Cup
Steffen Schmidt / Insidefoto

Argentina and Uruguay are planning to make a joint bid for the 2030 World Cup, according to the Argentinian press.

There had been speculation of this for quite a while, given that the World Cup in 2030 will be 100 years after the first World Cup hosted by Uruguay in 1930. With the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams, joint-bids will become the new trend following the 2026 official candidature of USA, Canada and Mexico. To date, the only joint hosted World Cup was Japan-South Korea in 2002.

Carlos Mac Allister, the Argentine sports secretary said “We are absolutely determined to find a solution with FIFA,” and that the presidents of both countries and federations were in agreement to go ahead.

In fact, when Argentina will face Uruguary in World Cup qualifying on August 31st in Montevideo, the two presidents had planned to meet to discuss this initiative further.

While on a sentimental and nostalgic level the bid would have much appeal, there is no guarantee FIFA will award the World Cup on that alone given that (assuming the World Cup in 2026 will be awarded in North America) the World Cup will be played in virtually the same time zone for two consecutive editions.

China and England have also expressed their interest in hosting the 2030 World Cup and both are formidable candidates, giving the joint Argentina-Uruguay bid some tough competition. China in particular has invested heavily in football both for its domestic league and acquisition of stakes in teams abroad.

Will be interesting to see which way the FIFA delegation will go. With first time hosts Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, then assuming 2026 returning to previous hosts Mexico, USA and first time Canada – does FIFA award the 2030 World Cup to a first time host, or let the heart strings win over to celebrate the 100 years in style by looking back to its roots?