NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Hosting World Cup matches in 2030 would be “the dream of those who survived the horrors of war,” Ukrainian Soccer Federation President Andriy Pavelko said Wednesday after his country submitted a joint bid with Spain and Portugal.
The leaders of the three football associations have gathered at UEFA headquarters to embark on a crusade that they hope will unite others beyond the world of sport.
“This is the dream of millions of Ukrainian fans,” Pavelko told a news conference, “the dream of other people who survived the horrors of war or who are still in the occupied territories and over whom the Ukrainian flag will soon fly. “
Pavelko said the task was supported by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The long-awaited Spain-Portugal bid, which has been in process for more than 3 years, has already been named a UEFA candidate. FIFA will vote for the host in 2024.
Read more: Behind the scenes of Ukraine’s national football team’s bid to triumph at the 2022 World Cup
“Now it is no longer the Iberian candidacy, it is the European candidacy,” said the president of the Spanish football federation, Luis Rubiales, at the presentation ceremony. “Together we constitute the transformative force that football has in society. “
No main points were given on how many matches of the 48-team World Cup would be held in Ukraine or in which cities. The Olympic Stadium in Kiev hosted the final of Euro 2012 and the Champions League 2018.
The European bid is to face a South American bid with Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay as co-hosts.
Saudi Arabia, which has forged close ties with FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, is a multi-continental bid that could add Egypt and Greece. It is unclear how UEFA will approve Greece to be part of it.