MONTEVIDEO – Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez and Argentine counterpart Mauricio Macri agreed on Thursday that their countries will formulate a joint bid to host the World Cup in 2030, a century after Uruguay was the site of the first tournament.
“In the 30th year of this century it will be 100 years since that first so important event that is the World Cup of soccer and we have decided that there is no better opportunity than to commit ourselves today to put forward a joint candidacy to be the venue of that World Cup,” Macri said after meeting with Vazquez.
The two men announced the initiative after talks at the Uruguayan presidential retreat in Anchorena.
Acknowledging that the tourney is “many years” away, Macri said it was not too soon to start planning.
Vazquez reminded reporters that both he and Macri have strong ties to soccer.
As club president, the Uruguayan leader lifted the Progreso side from the third division to the first division title in 1989.
Macri, meanwhile, used his successful run as president of Boca Juniors, Argentina’s most popular team, as a springboard to get into politics.