Izuchukwu OkosiArgentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay on Tuesday officially launched their joint bid to stage the FIFA World Cup tournament in 2030, exactly 100 years after the event was first held in South America.
CONMEMBOL President, the South American football governing body, Alejandro Dominguez insists that a South American bid will be perfect way to immortalize the late Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele) and Diego Maradona.
“We are convinced that FIFA has an obligation to honour the memory of those who organised the first World Cup,” said Alejandro Domínguez, president of CONMEBOL, South American football’s governing body, at a photo-call in Buenos Aires.
Dominguez was attending the bid’s launch event at the Argentine Football Association’s (AFA) headquarters in Ezeiza, on the outskirts of the capital.
The so-called “Mundial Centenario,” or Centenary World Cup project faces strong competition for hosting rights. FIFA is due to choose a host in 2024 for the 2030 tournament.
The South Americans’ main challenge is a joint bid from Spain, Portugal and Ukraine, which has the backing of European football’s governing body UEFA. Saudi Arabia is also considering bidding for the right to stage the tournament, lining up an ambitious bid with Egypt and Greece.
Tipping the scales against the South American bid is the fact that the next World Cup, due to be staged in 2026, will also be held in the Americas, with games split between the United States, Mexico and Canada.
In the 2026 games, the number of competing nations will increase from 32 to 48, starting with an enlarged group stage.
Back in December, Domínguez said FIFA should honour the legacies of South American icons Pelé and Diego Maradona by awarding the centennial 2030 World Cup to the continent.
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“It is very important for them to come and play here. Uruguay is the first world champion, Argentina the last,”, said Sebastián Bauzá, Uruguay’s national sports secretary, as he spoke in front of dozens of directors and former players who are backing the bid.
Paraguay’s Sports Minister Diego Galeano Harrison said “the 100th anniversary World Cup” should be in South America.
“It is a legitimate desire throughout the region. We have world champions. It is a big challenge. The first thing is to dream, believe and achieve it, with an appropriate and sustainable bid,” said Alexandra Benado, Chile’s sports minister.
AFA president Claudio Tapia said that “history and passion will give us the possibility of hosting the 2030 World Cup.”
Uruguay was the first-ever world champion in 1930, beating Argentina 4-2 in the final of the 13-team World Cup staged in Montevideo.
Argentina are the reigning champions, having triumphed over France in Qatar in December.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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