Sepp Blatter, a former FIFA president, criticizes the decision to hold the 2030 World Cup in six nations
Sepp Blatter, a former president of FIFA, has criticized the organization’s choice to stage the World Cup in six nations on three continents.
FIFA made an unexpected announcement on Wednesday, naming Morocco, Spain, and Portugal as the tournament’s 2030 hosts. Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay will also host the tournament’s opening matches to commemorate its 100th anniversary.
Sepp Blatter, who presided over FIFA from 1998 to 2015 until being removed due to a corruption probe, criticized the choice.
Blatter said to the Swiss daily SonntagsBlick, “It is insane to rip the competition apart in this manner.
“The World Cup finals must be a compact event,” he said, adding that this was crucial for the event’s identity, the organization, and spectators.
Formerly one of soccer’s most influential leaders, Blatter had criticized FIFA for choosing Qatar to host the 2022 event, claiming that the Middle Eastern nation was too tiny.
The 87-year-old suggested that South America host the 2030 competition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the inaugural competition, which Uruguay hosted and won.
He told the newspaper, “For historical reasons, the 2030 World Cup should have been exclusively in South America.”
The last time a South American country hosted the World Cup was in 2014, when Germany overcame Argentina to win their fourth World Cup on a goal from substitute Mario Gotze.
Argentina won the 2022 World Cup, which Qatar hosted and was the first time in 20 years that a South American country had triumphed in football’s most coveted competition.
