Spain and Portugal are looking to bolster their efforts to host the 2030 World Cup by including Ukraine.
The plan is for Ukraine to host one group, with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy backing the bid.
Two hundred eleven member associations of the FIFA Congress will meet next year to decide which countries will host the 2030 World Cup.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Greece will offer a join-bid alongside Argentina and Uruguay as part of the tournament’s 100th anniversary.
Will the FIFA Congress back a World Cup in Ukraine?
Last month, former Ukraine captain and coach Andriy Shevchenko presented Barcelona and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski with a Ukrainian armband to wear at the World Cup in Qatar. Perhaps that was the geopolitical statement FIFA needed to consider Ukraine as a World Cup host candidate.
“It will be an honor for me to carry this captain’s armband in the colors of Ukraine to the World Cup,” said Lewandowski.
The World Cup bid announcement comes as Putin’s Russia — host of the World Cup 2018 — tries to “annex” Donetsk as part of his war effort on Ukraine.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup begins in 55 days, with the host nations — the United States, Mexico, and Canada already preparing for their turn in 2026.
