{"id":1217404,"date":"2022-10-06T14:45:03","date_gmt":"2022-10-06T14:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/10\/06\/ukraine-joins-spain-and-portugals-bid-to-host-2030-tournament\/"},"modified":"2022-10-06T14:45:03","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T14:45:03","slug":"ukraine-joins-spain-and-portugals-bid-to-host-2030-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/10\/06\/ukraine-joins-spain-and-portugals-bid-to-host-2030-tournament\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine joins Spain and Portugal’s bid to host 2030 tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ukraine co-hosted Euro 2012 with Poland
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Ukraine has joined Spain and Portugal\u2019s bid to host the 2030 Fifa World Cup.<\/p>\n

Representatives of the Spanish, Portuguese and Ukrainian football associations confirmed their plans at Uefa\u2019s headquarters on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Ukraine was invaded by Russia in February and the war has continued since then with thousands of troops and civilians killed and major cities suffering significant destruction.<\/p>\n

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Spain and Portugal originally\u00a0announced a joint bid in June 2021<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian football association (UAF) president Andriy Pavelko said the bid showed European football was \u201cunited as never before\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thank you on behalf of thousands of little players that were subjected to barbaric military aggression,\u201d Pavelko said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese children were forced to leave their homes, their clubs and football schools, fleeing from bullets and shells.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of them received your support and found shelter in various European countries. Now they can continue to play football in European clubs and have made new friends all over Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Twitter: \u201cThe joint bid is more than a symbol of faith in our joint victory. Ukraine will endure, prevail and be rebuilt thanks to the solidarity of its partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three-way partnership has \u201cunconditional support\u201d from Uefa, European football\u2019s governing body, according to a statement by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe example of tenacity and resilience set by the Ukrainian people is inspiring,\u201d the FPF said. \u201cThis proposal aims to contribute through the power of football to the recovery of a country undergoing reconstruction.\u201d<\/p>\n

FPF president Fernando Soares Gomes da Silva said: \u201cWe are convinced that by 2030 we will have peace in Europe and that Ukraine will be able to host it in the best way possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur bid is not an Iberian bid any more, it\u2019s a European bid,\u201d Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish federation (RFEF), said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m convinced that now our bid is much better than before. Football is universal and if it is capable of changing the life of people in so many ways it should also be used for doing good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Spain, Portugal and Ukraine bid will compete against a joint South American proposal from Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile, as well as a collaboration between Egypt, Greece and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

The RFEF said the addition of Ukraine to the bid would not lead to a reduction to the planned 11 venues in Spain and three in Portugal.<\/p>\n

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