South America formalizes its joint candidacy for the 2030 World Cup

Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay made official this Thursday their project to host the 2030 World Cup, an edition that will mark the centenary of the first final phase of the tournament, held in Uruguay.

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This joint South American candidacy will fight for the organization of the 2030 World Cup with which Spain and Portugal will also present jointly.

“Today we have made the political and sporting decision to relaunch the possibility of holding the 2030 World Cup in South America, and in these four countries,” Paraguayan Vice President Hugo Velázquez confirmed at a press conference.

Sports ministers and representatives of the four embassies met this Thursday in Asunción and raised the intention before FIFA.

Velázquez clarified that the South American candidates do not have the financial resources to compete “with the great world powers” and therefore plan a World Cup “in an austere manner.”

The centenary of the first World Cup

“We are going to go back to world football history that the first World Cup was in South America,” he said, referring to the competition held in Uruguay in 1930.

He also said that South America is the continent that “exports the best players to the world the most.”

The financing of the works

However, the four South American countries will have to establish infrastructure works.

“We also had the presence of the representative of CAF (Development Bank of Latin America), who offered to establish the possibility that they finance these infrastructure works that would be presented in the different countries,” Velázquez announced.

He stressed that these investments will remain to “generate well-being” in the respective countries.

The next step for the bloc is a meeting that will take place “in less than a month” in Montevideo.

“After that work table I think they are going to establish some kind of calendar that is going to be executed,” said Paraguay’s second-in-command.

Four countries have never organized a World Cup

If the conformation is confirmed, it will be the first time that four countries of the region united will host a World Cup.

The last time the world cup was played on the continent was in Brazil in 2014, where the German team was champion.

This year the competition will be held in Qatar, and in 2026, in Canada, the United States and Mexico.