Ukraine will bid in conjunction with Spain and Portugal for the right to host the 2030 World Cup.
The Spanish and Portuguese football associations have confirmed the three-nation bid between the two Iberian countries and Ukraine.
Announcing the news, the RFEF (Royal Spanish Football Federation) tweeted that the partnership aimed "to send a message of hope to society based on the transforming power of football". It was reported on Tuesday that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky had given the go-ahead for Ukraine to join the bid.
🔴 España y Portugal incorporan a Ucrania en la candidatura para el #Mundial2030👉🏻 El proyecto quiere lanzar a la sociedad un mensaje de esperanza a partir del poder transformador del fútbol 🔗 https://t.co/aTVbv9ta0x#Vamos2030 pic.twitter.com/RIDNjkb70qOctober 5, 2022
Ukraine remains at war with Russia, who launched an invasion in February and has since annexed four regions of the country.
In a statement, the RFEF added that the Spanish-Portuguese-Ukrainian bid has the full backing of UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.
Spain previously hosted the World Cup in 1982, while Euro 2004 was held in Portugal. Ukraine co-hosted Euro 2012 alongside Poland, with Spain winning the tournament.
There are currently three other bids for the 2030 World Cup, which will mark the 100th anniversary of the tournament.
As such, 1930 hosts Uruguay are in the running; they've teamed up with Argentina, Paraguay and Chile. Egypt, Greece and Saudi Arabia have announced a tri-continental bid, while Morocco is aiming to become the second African country to host the World Cup.
It's expected that the 2030 World Cup host (or hosts) will be declared at the 2024 FIFA Congress. This year's World Cup in Qatar gets underway in less than seven weeks' time.
