Ukraine has been added to Portugal and Spain's bid to host the 2030 World Cup, creating a joint European application to host the soccer tournament in eight years time.
Ukrainian Football Association President Andriy Pavelko said hosting World Cup matches in 2030 would be “the dream of people who survived the horrors of war or are still in the occupied territories and over whom the Ukrainian flag will surely fly soon.”
Pavelko spoke on October 5 alongside his counterparts from Portugal and Spain ahead of the presentation of the formal bid at the headquarters of the UEFA, football’s European governing body, in Nyon, Switzerland.
Pavelko said the project is backed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, but no details were given about how many games of the 48-team tournament would be staged in Ukraine or in which cities.
The original bid from Spain and Portugal was announced two years ago with the goal of bringing the World Cup back to Europe 12 years after Russia hosted.
“Now it’s not the Iberian bid, it’s the European bid,” Spanish Football Federation President Luis Rubiales said. “Together we represent the power of transformation football has in society.”
The European bid is facing competition from a joint bid from four South American countries -- Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Their bid aims to mark the centenary of Uruguay hosting the inaugural 1930 World Cup.
The members of FIFA, football’s world governing body, will choose the host of the 2030 World Cup in a vote scheduled to take place in 2024.