I would prefer the 2030 WC not be held by a confederation which moved its continental centenary edition outside of its borders. For all we know, Conmebol might resell 2030 hosting rights to the highest bidder.
Whaaaaat? Conmebol would never renounce WC hosting du- **intern whispers in ear about 1986** Oh, well
very interesting turnaround, UK possibly dropping out on their own! https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/59900391 no clue about the real reasons behind this decission, might well be in relation to current power struggle between FIFA and UEFA
Interesting. The quote that got me was "The UK government has committed £2.8m to a feasibility study into a 2030 World Cup bid" In what universe does a feasibility study into hosting a football tournament in the UK cost 2.8 million pounds?!?!?!? I mean, the stadiums are already built. The hotels are already accommodating guests. The airports are already operational. The roads are already layed. I can't think of a potential host that requires a "feasibility study" less than the UK? Having said that, in the face of stiff competition and political difficulties there may well be valid reasons for withdrawing from the 2030 bidding process, I just hope they don't blow £2.8m on confirming the obvious. EDIT: It should also be noted that the statement comes from the Digital Culture Media & Sport Committee, who's job it is to scrutinise the work of government. Therefore the advice not to continue with the 2030 UK bid is not binding on the UK government. Personally, I think the UK will still bid to host.
The UK could host the world cup tomorrow if it needed to. To be honest as of right now there is nowhere on the planet 'better' for holding a World Cup for the following reasons:- 1. World class stadia already in place 2. Football mad population 3. Small country (short travelling distances) 4. Very diverse population (when Jamaica play games in London they get bigger crowds than they get when they play in Jamaica!). 5. Security services used to dealing with large football crowds (English league has the biggest attendances of any football league on the planet) and there are 14 professional clubs in London alone) 6. Home of the worlds most popular sports league. 7. Home of the game, birthplace of football. and probably most importantly of all:- 8. It hasn't held a world cup for 60 years, in that time all the worlds football hotbeds have held a world cup - Germany twice, US will have been twice and Mexico will have been THREE times (and the US and Mexico aren't even 'hotbeds' of world football)! The only other place I can think of with a claim as strong is perhaps the Netherlands which has NEVER held a world cup. Of course there are MANY reasons why the UK should realistically be holding a world cup about now but there is probably ZERO chance that FIFA will EVER award a world cup to the birthplace of football - make of that what you will!
The UK/Republic of Ireland bid is most likely withdrawn as UEFA wish to prioritise the Spain/Portugal bid. There seems to be support for a Euro2028 tournament instead. It appears this may be a 32 team tournament as well.
Why does everyone forget about the Balkan Bid (Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia)? They are also listed on the wikipedia article. I don't see, why they shouldn't have a chance. Bucharest ist top class, Sofia and Belgade will build great areans too and Greece has the olympic stadium.
I guess there is always room to make your bid more attractive, so maybe this study was looking at what can be feasibly done in terms of stadium, transportation upgrades etc.. The cost of the study does seem a bit outrageous though.
@Gibraldo Dude, look at when I posted that, it was almost 4 years ago on Apr 9, 2018! The very article that you cite says this: "On 2 November 2018, the leaders of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Serbia confirmed their intention to compete to host the tournament considering a combined bid" [emphasis mine] That's 7 months after my post! It's pretty difficult to "forget" something that hasn't happened yet. I'll go on record now as saying I would be thrilled if the Balkan bid gets chosen in 2030.
In some countries on this planet football is like a religion, not something that I 'get' with Mexico, hey maybe I'm wrong but it doesn't seem that way to me.
so since it's been 4 years here's my updated personal preferences based on what Wikipedia has listed for bids. 1. South America (Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay)* 2. Iberia (Spain & Portugal)* 3. Balkans (Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Serbia)* 4. China (and others) 5. North Africa (Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria)* 6. Sub-Saharan Africa (Cameroon, Congo, Nigeria, etc.) 7. UK/Ireland 8. South Korea (and others) * confirmed bids according to Wikipedia Same caveat as last time, my list is what I want and has nothing to do with which bid is most prepared, most qualified, deserves it the most, has waited the longest, or any other factor other than my personal preference of where I want to go. I'd be super happy with any of the top 5 and the sub Saharan bid would be cool too, but unlikely I think.
The 2030 World Cup will take place in Europe.100 % And the European Championship 2028 in Italy or Turkey
All this discussion about 2030 is now conditional on what I expect to be the approval in March of the new IMC from 2024 which I am confident will include a WC in 2028. FIFA could launch the bidding process for 2028 in mid-2022 with a view to awarding hosting rights at the 2023 Ordinary Congress with 2030 being awarded - as scheduled - in 2024.
It would be funny if after all these months of bickering between UEFA and FIFA the next World cup in 2028 is in Europe.
I think there is every prospect of that happening, particularly as it would help FIFA to celebrate the centenary tournament in Uruguay in 2030.