Ukraine to join Spain-Portgual 2030 World Cup bid: report

Ukraine will reportedly be joining Spain and Portugal in a bid to be named the 2030 FIFA World Cup hosts. 

The World Cup will be held in Qatar next month, but FIFA is always looking ahead to see which country, or countries in this case, could be named the hosts for the coming tournaments. For 2026, it will be the United States, Canada and Mexico hosting after receiving 134 votes over Morocco’s 65 among the 200 FIFA member federations. One of them didn’t vote. 

Someone familiar with Ukraine’s addition to the Spain-Portugal bid said the announcement is scheduled for Wednesday at UEFA headquarters, per the Associated Press. 

Ukraine’s soccer federation president, Andriy Pavelko, told the AP that he will be going to Switzerland for the announcement. 

The Times of London had the first report of Ukraine joining forces with its UEFA allies. 

There is currently no deadline for FIFA to choose where the 2030 World Cup will be held, though they have mentioned that a decision would be made by 2024. 

CALLS FROM THE FRONT LINES REVEAL MORALE COLLAPSE IN RUSSIAN ARMY: REPORT

Morocco is expected to bid once again to host the World Cup with the potential help from Tunisia and Algeria, while a South American joint bid of Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay is expected as well. There is also Egypt, Greece and Saudi Arabia that will join forces to bid. 

Saudi Arabia specifically has worked to create a good relationship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino. 

The 2030 World Cup is also being called the Centennial World Cup, as the inaugural tournament was played in 1930. And Uruguay won that cup, which is why they feel inclined to join the South American bid. 

This news comes as Ukraine soccer, like the rest of the country, has been affected by the invasion of Russia. They returned to play in August with games played in the capital of Kyiv as well as Lviv on the western side of the country, though air raid alerts have interrupted play. Sheltering until the alerts are finished have been occurring for everyone involved. 

WORLD CUP 2022: VISITORS REQUIRED TO SHOW PROOF OF NEGATIVE COVID-19 TEST, REGARDLESS OF VACCINATION STATUS

Ukraine did host the 2012 European Championship in four stadiums that are all on the eastern side of the country, which has been under bombardment or occupation by Russia. 

Shaktar Donetsk, Ukraine’s best team that has been playing in the UEFA Champions League, hasn’t been able to host any games in their home country. Instead, they have had to play in Poland. The national team and other clubs haven’t been able to host international play as well. 

The last World Cup to be held in Europe was in 2018 in Russia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report