The Uruguay–Argentina 2030 FIFA World Cup bid is a joint bid by Uruguay and Argentina to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup. The bid followed an earlier web movement claiming that FIFA should give Uruguay hosting rights for the 100th anniversary of the first 1930 FIFA World Cup which was also held in Uruguay.
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Background
The project was originally the idea of Abel Fialko, an Uruguayan, resident in Israel.
Athens, the capital of Greece, the home of the ancient and first modern 1896 Summer Olympics, was considered by many observers during the 1996 bidding period as "the natural choice" for the Centennial Olympic Games of 1996. However, in the end, the U.S. city of Atlanta was selected to host the Centennial Olympics. In 1997, Athens won the right to host the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Because of that incident, Fialko had a real concern that Uruguay's "historical rights" to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup (because Uruguay hosted the first edition of that tournament) would not be enough, and that Uruguay would end up having the same fate as Athens.
Abel Fialko then launched a website in 1997 and began gathering more and more people, using the internet, to his cause.
Using the benefits of the Internet to his advantage, and realizing that through it, the World was literally a global village, Fialko managed to bring upon himself the attention of many of his countrymen. Soon the world media learned of the initiative and Fialko was interviewed several times.
On Tuesday 4 October 2005, during his visit to Uruguay to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the inaugural FIFA World Cup, FIFA President Sepp Blatter had a meeting with the Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez. In that meeting Vázquez formally suggested that Uruguay could co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup with another MERCOSUR nation to commemorate the centenary of Uruguay 1930.
After the meeting, Sepp Blatter stated, "During our meeting, the President told me of his dream of seeing this tournament hosted in the region. I told him that today's dream could be tomorrow's vision, which in turn could become a proper initiative and finally a project. At present, the South American Football Confederation is scheduled to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and all (national) associations will be able to present their candidature when we begin the selection process at the end of 2006. Dr Nicholas Leoz tells me that with the system of rotation it will be the turn of South America in 2030. That is the situation as it currently stands.".
Uruguay-Argentina joint bid
In October 2007, Julio Grondona, President of the Argentine Football Association, accepted a proposal from neighboring Uruguay to bid to co-host the 2030 World Cup. Grondona said in the formal response letter to the Uruguayan football authorities:"the Argentine Football Association Executive Committee, at its meeting yesterday, unanimously approved applying for your initiative to jointly organize the FIFA World Championship 2030. Undoubtedly, to crystallize this purpose will lead to further deepen the friendly ties that forever bind the two countries, and hence sports and government officials on both sides of the Rio de la Plata will work together in order to meet the final goal of 2030 World Cup."
In that same month, during a meeting of CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation), Uruguay received the support of other South American countries to co-host the 2030 World Cup football finals with Argentina.
On November 18, 2009, the same day that Uruguay national football team managed to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, FIFA stated that it was pleased with Uruguay and Argentina's initiative to jointly organize the 2030 World Cup.
A few days later, on November 25, 2009, in a meeting of presidents of the national associations and members of the Executive Committee of CONMEBOL, the Argentinian and Uruguayan Football Associations received unanimous support for the joint bid to host the World Cup 2030.
On June 10, 2010, just a day before the opening of the 2010 World Cup, a special delegation of the Tourism and Sports Ministry of Uruguay met with Sepp Blatter in Johannesburg, formally proposing the bid of Uruguay and Argentina as the hosts of the 2030 World Cup.
Argentine position
Miguel Angel Silva, the Argentine football association vice-president, appeared to rule that out in 2014. "Argentina is not thinking about the 2030 World Cup. We haven't even considered it yet. If you asked me concretely, Argentina will not bid to organise that World Cup," Chilean local daily La Tercera quoted him as saying.
Shortly after his assumption to the presidency and during a visit to the neighbouring country, Argentine president Mauricio Macri and his Uruguayan homologue Tabaré Vazquez announced their intentions to pursue the 2030 bid.