There have been several relevant moments to date in the joint candidacy of Spain and Portugal to organize the 2030 World Cup. In October 2020, the signing of a protocol to establish common strategies and cooperation platforms at a technical and organizational level sporting events, among other points. In June 2021, the official presentation was attended by King Felipe VI of Spain and Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of the Republic of Portugal. In a detail that is worth what it is worth, that intervention by Aleksander Ceferin in the Football Talks organized by the Portuguese Football Federation, president of UEFA, who said he was sure that “the 2030 World Cup would be disputed in both countries.”
The surprise reserved for Wednesday was “anticipated”: Ukraine joins Portugal and Spain in the bid for the 2030 World Cup
“Both feel football. It is a winning bet and we will do everything possible to help these countries that are passionate about football, that live and breathe football and that have good infrastructures”, he added. However, over the months, the natural evolution of the rest of the projects, between withdrawals and greater ambitions, took the gas out of the Iberian hypothesis. Not for his own demerit, for the merit of others. And when a new idea seemed to begin to fall into the mind of Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, the accounts changed again.
In Nyon, the home and heart of UEFA, the two presidents of the Portuguese and Spanish Football Federations, Fernando Gomes and Luis Rubiales, officially confirmed what had been revealed on Monday night by The Times: Ukraine joined the Iberian proposal, which happens to be tripartite.
“To some, this decision may seem surprising and unexpected. For us it was a logical and natural decision. The devastation, the flight of millions of Ukrainians, the uncertainty about the future weighed on our desire to include Ukraine in this candidature, who from the first moment deserved the unconditional support of the UEFA president [Aleksander Ceferin], whom I would like to thank in advance. It is of special significance to make this announcement in the home of European football. Football is much more than football. And it would not be necessary to invoke another reason to justify what brings us here today. Football is overcoming, commitment, resilience, inspiration”, reinforced Fernando Gomes after the conference that made the integration official.
“Certainly there will be many people who will think that the easiest thing for Portugal and Spain would be to continue with this candidacy as it was, regardless of what is happening in Ukraine. Let me disagree. I think that would be the most difficult and incomprehensible. Ukraine cannot disappear from our memory after the war is over. When that day comes, I’m sure you’ll still need help and we want it and we’ll be there. Helping Ukrainians means integrating them into projects of this dimension, giving them hope for the future. Despite the few certainties, there is one thing we do know: football has a unique mobilizing force that cannot be wasted. That’s what we’re betting on. Let this be the World Cup that reaffirms the values enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, of tolerance and peace”, added the federative leader, speaking with Andriy Pavelko, counterpart from Ukraine.
“We have already demonstrated the ability to organize top-tier events. Portugal and Spain are ready to host, together with Ukraine, the 2030 World Cup. We want a championship for peace, show the best of sport, but also the best values of Europe”, said António Costa, President of the Government of Portugal, in an idea shared by his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sánchez.
With this crossing there are three direct hits that are immediately apparent: 1) Ukraine guarantees that it will remain the center of attention of all countries in a (hopefully) post-war period that will be marked by a long reconstruction of the country at various levels, and that is why the country’s leader himself, Volodymyr Zelensky. , gave a positive opinion and with special enthusiasm to the possibility confirmed today; 2) Portugal and Spain, which already had the strong support of UEFA in this project, place the election in a plan that goes beyond football and reinforce that same European support around the candidacy, being able to collect many votes outside the Old Continent, that’s how you’re worried; 3) for there to be any chance of victory, the war must end at least until the next FIFA Congress, which will take place in 2024.
Thus, and according to the international press, the Iberian candidacy plus Ukraine once again gained ground against the project organized by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Greece that for the first time brought together three different confederations in the same competition, with the inconvenience of having a World Cup again in winter, as will happen in 2022 (something that clubs and players do not agree on, given the repercussion it has later on the rest of the season). Infantino will have had some contacts in recent weeks with those responsible for the idea, who wanted to mark the centenary of the first edition of the World Cup with a more “global” edition. Money, once again, would not be a problem, especially since Saudi Arabia, which is also seeking to host the Winter Olympics, is leading the project.
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Source: Observadora
