Trent
England manager Gareth Southgate has expressed concerns about FIFA’s decision to host the 2030 World Cup across six countries on three continents. While the 2030 World Cup was originally awarded to Morocco, Spain, and Portugal, it was also announced that Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay would host three opening matches to mark the tournament’s centenary. However, there are now discussions about potentially hosting more matches in Argentina.
Southgate raised questions about the integrity of the competition given the extensive travel required for teams and fans. He mentioned that teams would play matches in South America and then have to travel across the globe, change time zones, and pick up the competition with home advantage in one part of the group and not another. This could lead to disparities in competition conditions.
The England manager also compared the 2030 World Cup plans to the previous edition of the European Championships, which were hosted across multiple countries in Europe. Southgate noted that the 2030 plans appeared quite disjointed in comparison to the European tournament.
While FIFA’s decision to spread the tournament across multiple countries aims to celebrate the World Cup’s centenary, it has raised logistical and integrity concerns among football officials and fans. The situation is likely to evolve as discussions continue regarding the hosting of matches.
