The days of a single country hosting a World Cup appear to be over.
Qatar will host the final 32-team World Cup in 2022. Four years later, 48 teams will compete at the tournament and it will be hosted for the first time by three countries – the United States, Mexico and Canada.
For the 2030 World Cup, as many as five countries could be involved.
According to a report in The Times, Ireland could be part of the United Kingdom’s bid for the tournament. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are considering a bid for the 2030 World Cup, and Ireland are said to open to joining discussions about a potential bid.
As Northern Ireland does not have a suitable stadium to host World Cup matches, the Republic of Ireland has been suggested as a partner for the United Kingdom bid. Dublin’s Aviva Stadium has a capacity of over 51,000. The venue hosted the 2011 Europa League final and will host four Euro 2020 matches.
The report claims that Ireland “could win votes from countries that may not usually support the UK associations” within Fifa. So, from an infrastructural and political perspective, Ireland could prove a valuable ally to the potential UK bid. The report claims that the FAI “is understood to be open to an approach for detailed discussions” regarding the bid.
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said last week that a joint bid from “that part of Europe” would be “wise” and the FA said they are “looking at all options.”
If the UK and Ireland were to join forces and submit a bid, a joint South American bid from Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay is likely to be their main rivals to host the tournament.
For what it’s worth, Sepp Blatter said back in June that Ireland and the UK should prepare a joint bid for the 2030 tournament.
“I think that England, or the islands, they deserve to organise the World Cup,” the former Fifa president said.
“They had it in 1966 so it’s a long time ago. (I was told that) it could be with Wales and Scotland together but I said why not Ireland altogether? With 48 teams you need more than one country to host it.”
