Bulgaria aims to host the soccer World Cup together with Romania in 2030

Newsroom 13/12/2018 | 11:12

Bulgaria wants to bid to host the 2030 soccer World together with Romania, Greece and Serbia, suggesting that the governments of these countries would offer support for the joint candidature, according to Reuters.

No Balkan nation has hosted the World Cup and this announcement raised eyebrows given the poor sports infrastructure in the region but Bulgaria’s Sports Minister Krasen Kralev, a former long-distance runner, says it is an achievable target.

“Our bid is completely realistic, we are aware that we have to meet a number of FIFA criteria,” the 51-year-old Kralev told Reuters.

“Let us remind you that Russia also began building the necessary sports infrastructure after being named host of the 2018 World Cup,” he added.

The Balkan quartet will also bid to host the European championship in 2028, hoping that would give them a chance to improve or build new stadiums.

Kralev said that Greece had already announced it would modernize its Olympic stadium while Serbia planned to build a new 60,000-capacity stadium.

He said Bulgaria was considering investing some USD 40 million to renovate the Vasil Levski Stadium and construct a new national stadium in the capital Sofia and two more grounds in other cities.

In Romania, a 55,000-capacity stadium was completed in Bucharest in 2011 and two other modern stadiums with 30,000 places are located in Cluj and Craiova.

“The joint bid is an important political sign. It shows that the Balkan countries will work together not only in the field of sport but will jointly stand up for their common political and economic interests,” Kralev said.

World governing body FIFA is expected to decide the 2030 hosts in 2022, when the World Cup goes to Qatar.

A South American bid involving Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay has already been announced.

Morocco, which has made five unsuccessful bids to host the tournament including 2026, has also said it would try again for 2030 and could be joined by Algeria and Tunisia.

The English Football Association has announced plans to conduct a feasibility study into a joint bid with Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The 2026 World Cup will be hosted jointly by the United States, Mexico and Canada and Kralev said that the Balkan neighbors already had an example to follow.

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