MADRID: Spain would support Ukraine joining its 2030 FIFA World Cup hosting bid with Portugal, government spokeswoman Isabel Rodriguez said on Tuesday, asked about a report in The Times.

The Times reported on Monday that Ukraine is set to join Spain and Portugal in their bid to host the World Cup in 2030.

Ukraine would host one of the groups in the tournament under the plan which is understood to have been sanctioned by Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the governments of Spain and Portugal, the report added.

The football chiefs of both Spain and Portugal will hold a news conference at European governing body UEFA’s headquarters in Switzerland on Wednesday, authorities said.

Ukrainian football federation president Andriy Pavelko confirmed to the Associated Press on Tuesday he will go to Switzerland for the announcement, but he declined to confirm details of the project.

Ukraine co-hosted the 2012 European Championship in four stadiums, including in Donetsk and Kharkiv. Those cities in eastern Ukraine have been under occupation or bombardment since Russia invaded the country earlier this year.

FIFA has given no formal timetable to choose a host for the 48-team tournament in 2030, but the governing body has promised a decision in 2024. Voting would involve about 200 FIFA member federations.

The European bid is expected to face a South American candidacy with co-hosts Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. That bid has the emotional pull of being the centenary for Uruguay, which hosted — and won — the inaugural 1930 World Cup.

Saudi Arabia, which has worked to build close ties to FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, in recent years, has been preparing an unprecedented multi-continent bid potentially including Egypt and Greece. It is unclear how Greece would be approved by UEFA to take part in a rival bid.

Ukraine president Zelenskyy two weeks ago praised UEFA for supporting football in his country and suspending all Russian teams from international competitions, including the lucrative Champions League.

Football in Ukraine restarted in August after the national league was abandoned last season during the invasion. League games are being played in Kyiv and the western city of Lviv, with many interrupted by air raid alerts. Teams and officials have sheltered in bunkers until it was safe to resume games.

Ukraine’s national team and leading clubs are currently unable to host games in international competitions because of the security risk. Those games, including Shakhtar Donetsk playing in the Champions League, have mostly been played in neighboring Poland.

Launching the three-nation bid ahead of this year’s World Cup in Qatar allows the European colleagues to lobby their potential voters at the tournament which will begin on Nov 20.

Europe last hosted the World Cup in 2018 in Russia. The 2026 edition, expanding to 48 teams, will be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2022