Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Chile launch bid to host 2030 World Cup

The football federations of Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, and Chile formally launched a joint bid on Tuesday to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which will mark the 100th anniversary of the inaugural tournament, hosted and won by Uruguay in 1930.

While significant infrastructure investment would be needed to meet FIFA’s organizational standards, the four South American countries are betting on their rich football history as the decisive factor in their bid.

The four countries were among the 13 participants of the original 1930 championship. Combined, Uruguay and Argentina have been to seven World Cup finals and won four titles.

Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina have all hosted the World Cup before, in 1930, 1962, and 1978. The venues of those finals — the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, and the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires — are due to be included among the bid’s host stadiums. Paraguay would be the only organizer of the four who did not host the tournament previously.

Joint bids to host tournaments have become more common since Japan and South Korea organized football’s biggest tournament in 2002. The U.S., Canada, and Mexico are in line to host the tournament in 2026.

Competing bids include Morocco and two joint efforts from Europe: Spain and Portugal, and Romania, Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria.

Until the 2014 tournament in Brazil, all World Cups hosted in Latin America have been won by countries from the region. Brazil won in Chile (1962) and Mexico (1970), while Uruguay and Argentina triumphed at home (1930 and 1978, respectively). Uruguay famously took its second title after upsetting Brazil in the 1950 Maracanazo, while Argentina also won in Mexico 1986, led by Diego Maradona.

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