Uruguay, Argentina to seek joint 2030 World Cup bid.

[forest444]

Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his Uruguayan counterpart Tabaré Vázquez agreed yesterday to start working together on a joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2030.

This proposal is not new: it was first formally introduced by former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and former Uruguayan President José “Pepe” Mujica in August 2011.

Analysts believe the joint Uruguay-Argentine bid has a good chance of winning as 2030 will be the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup, which took place in Uruguay (the last one thus far hosted by Uruguay). Argentina hosted its first and so far only World Cup in 1978; both countries won the World Cup in each occasion.

Macri had arrived at Anchorena Ranch — the Uruguayan presidential country retreat — by helicopter at 1pm, accompanied by Cabinet Chief Marcos Peña, Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, and Lower House Speaker Emilio Monzó. “We’ve decided to commit ourselves to filing a joint bid. We want this connection not only to strengthen our economic relationship but also our sports and culture,” Macri noted.

Relations between Argentina and Uruguay had been strained over Uruguay's approval a decade ago of a large UPM-Kymmene (formerly Botnia) wood pulp mill on the Uruguay River (which both countries share). As recently as April 2014, Former Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman had announced that Argentina would take the dispute back to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague after UPM-Kymmene announced plans to increase output at the plant.

Macri, however, stated that he wants to leave tensions in the past. “We are two people united by our history and affections, and we have a future to share,” he said.

At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/206321/uruguay-argentina-to-seek-world-cup-bid

[Bernie93]

1. Good for them

They have big chances since Brazil got it in 2014

[forest444]

2. Welcome to DU, Bernie93.

Good to have you herel

As for the World Cup, I agree that the bid makes sense and should succeed if there aren't to many enticement$ from other, larger countries. The selection process for World Cup '30 should take place around 2021. We'll see what happens.

The choice of an Argentine/Uruguayan joint bid is compelling in that, as the article mentioned, 2030 is the centennial of the very first FIFA World Cup - held (and won) by Uruguay in 1930. Of course, given the scale and costs of a modern World Cup it would be almost impossible for Uruguay - Latin America's least populous country - to host the tournament alone. Which is where Argentina comes in.

Argentina, you'll recall, already hosted a World Cup in 1978 (which, although closely associated with the dictatorship, was actually awarded to Argentina during Juan Perón's brief last presidency in 1974). The country would certainly be ready to host the championship again. Uruguay is likewise already prepared for its share of the hosting duties should the joint bid succeed.

Currently, FIFA is entertaining bids for 2026 - the choice for which won't be announced until almost two years from now (my guess would be Canada, although the Australia/New Zealand joint bid looks good too).