MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

It’s official: Uruguay and Argentina will bid to host the 2030 World Cup

The final won by Uruguay was played at the Centenary Stadium built specially for the event

Uruguay and Argentina that played the final of the first World Cup in 1930 in Montevideo, announced Wednesday they have jointly launched a bid to host the 2030 World Cup to celebrate the centennial.

Argentine Foreign Affairs Minister Hector Timerman and his Uruguayan counterpart Luis Almagro confirmed the committee plans, which has been talked about for several years and would commemorate the first World Cup that was held in 1930 in Uruguay and won by the sky-blue team.

World Cup hosts have been selected through to 2022. Brazil will hold the 2014 tournament followed by Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022. The only World Cup held jointly by two nations was Japan and South Korea in 2002.

“Motivation is very strong: it’s none less than the centennial of the first World Cup, which had as finalists out two countries. This should be an unbeatable argument for hosting the event”, said Uruguay’s Tourism and Sports minister Hector Lescano.

In July 1930 Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 in the first Cup final.

“Chances are good if we take into account that Europe could be hosting the 2026 Cup. We hope that in 2030 the River Plate will become for a month the football capital of the world”, said Enrique Meyer, Argentina’s Tourism minister.

After two editions outside Europe, the Cup will again be disputed in the Old Continent in 2018, hosted by Russia. Qatar will be the organizer four years later.