VARNA (Bulgaria): Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Romania will explore a potential joint Balkan bid to host the 2030 World Cup, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on Friday.
A Balkan country has never hosted the World Cup. Yugoslavia, which collapsed in 1991, hosted the four-country European Championships in 1976.
“I think it is worth discussing the proposal of [Greek Prime Minister Alexis] Tsipras,” Borissov told a joint news conference during a four-party summit between Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Serbia in the Black Sea city of Varna.
Tsipras said the four countries would discuss the possibility of becoming candidates for a major sporting event within 10 years.
“Just as Bulgaria and Italy hosted the world volleyball championship [in September], the four countries — Serbia, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria — [can] bid to host the world’s football championship in 2030,” Borissov said.
Although the 2030 contest is not officially open, South American football leaders are already promoting a three-way centenary bid by Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, who were the original World Cup hosts in 1930.
The English Football Association has already announced plans to conduct a feasibility study into bidding in partnership with Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Morocco, which has made five unsuccessful bids to host the tournament including 2026, has also said it would try again for 2030. Algeria and Tunisia are considering joining Morocco in a joint North African bid.
The 2026 World Cup will be hosted jointly by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2018
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