On March 10, authoritative publication The Athletic came out with some very resonant news for Ukraine and indeed all European football: Ukraine risks losing ground in a joint bid with Spain and Portugal to host the final episode of the World Cup. 2030. According to the source, it is alleged that due to the brutal war launched by the Russian authorities on the territory of Ukraine, our country does not have the opportunity to properly prepare for such a responsible sporting event.

That’s why Spain and Portugal might not object to the option that Ukraine will be replaced by another country that could really strengthen its right to host the 2030 World Cup. Even a very specific alternative to Ukraine’s participation in the project – it is called Morocco.

It is difficult to say which path this “news path” will eventually take and how it will all end in the end for our desire to see the strongest national teams of the planet in Ukrainian stadiums in 2030, but at the moment leading European analysts are inclined to believe it. Morocco can indeed be a much more profitable partner for Spain and Portugal than the troubled Ukraine.

Here are the main arguments in favor of the applications of Morocco and Ukraine, and the former country with much more than these…

Pros of Morocco:

1. Infrastructure and proven sports applicability. The FIFA Club World Cup 2022, which was drawn between 1-11 February 2023, will be played in Morocco. Clubs representing six different football confederations (UEFA, CONMEBOL, CAF, AFC, CONCACAF, OFC) from seven different countries participated in the tournament and overall the competition was at a high level and did not leave any serious complaints to the organizers.

The 2022 Club World Cup matches held in Morocco were played at two stadiums: Ibn Battuta in Tangier and Prince Moulay Abdullah in Rabat. The capacity of the first is 65 thousand spectators, the second – 60 thousand spectators. Both arenas meet all current FIFA requirements for stadiums applying for matches in the final part of the World Cup.

The presence of at least two serious stadiums that have been tested through the recent clubs world championship and have handled this task very well is a huge plus for Morocco on the Ukrainian backdrop. Yes, in 2018 Kiev NSC Olimpiyskiy hosted the UEFA Champions League final and the event was also held at the highest level but since then a lot has changed in our country, not for the better, especially in terms of safety and quality. of the logistics system.

After a series of image errors, FIFA changed the criteria for evaluating whether a country is ready to participate and host matches in the final part of the World Cup in the future. In particular, a clear priority is now given to ready-made stadiums and existing infrastructure, rather than the legendary statements that all this will be built quickly and efficiently in the next few years. In this respect, Morocco looks much more profitable than Ukraine, with the experience of hosting KChM-2022 in its two stadiums. Also, the African country has been wanting to qualify for the World Cup for some time now and has applied five times before, in 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2026. But Morocco eventually retreated each time in order to better prepare for the future and attempt a new …

2. Geographical proximity. Unlike Ukraine, Morocco is separated from Spain and Portugal only by the Strait of Gibraltar. Taken in a straight line, the distance from Tangier and Rabat above, for example to Seville (an important center of southern Spain), is 190 and 350 kilometers, respectively. This is much closer than Ukraine (from Barcelona to Kiev – 2400 kilometers in a straight line on the map) and therefore facilitates many organizational problems, from logistics to match schedule and kickoff time.

3. Synergy of football confederations. The inclusion of Morocco in the joint application with Spain and Portugal for the right to host the final stage of the 2030 World Cup could significantly strengthen the position of this project. In this case, it will be possible to talk about the synergy of the European and African football confederations and this strengthens the position in the voting as it forces the stakeholders to increase their effectiveness while working with the voting by increasing their regional participation. parties

It is important to understand that the host selection for the 2030 World Cup is scheduled to be held at the 74th FIFA Congress, scheduled for 2024. There, the European bid, led by Spain and Portugal, is expected to face strong competition from South America (CONMEBOL), where Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile have submitted a joint project to host a tournament just 100 years after the first FIFA. World Cup. We remember that the 1930 World Cup was held precisely in South America, or rather in Uruguay, and that is why there are many in FIFA’s senior management who think that a century from now it will be highly symbolic. host the planet’s key football tournament in this region (Also, according to the regulations, this is possible because the last Mundial in South America was held in 2014 when Brazil was the host country, followed by up to three tournaments outside this continent).

There is also the possibility that Greece (UEFA), Saudi Arabia (AFC) and Egypt (CAF) will unite for the right to host the 2030 World Cup, and it could turn out to be such a practice in football and geopolitical terms. emerged as perhaps the most attractive option for voters. For this reason, expanding the application geography by attracting applicants from another football confederation can be very beneficial for Spain and Portugal, which UEFA stands behind. As a member of the Union of European Football Associations, Ukraine cannot attract additional interest in making a joint application with other Europeans in this respect, which Morocco can do.

4. Absence of high-profile scandals in football authorities. The scandal unfolding around Barcelona in the Pyrenees could seriously and bitterly affect the joint application of Spain, Portugal and Ukraine for the right to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup. According to a number of sources, this story could lead to a complete cancellation of the application by UEFA representatives, although so far it has only been discussed on an unofficial level.

An incredible corruption scandal is also raging in Ukraine, which is designed to strengthen the image of the Spain-Portugal appeal, in which the country’s best football leadership is directly involved. In particular, in February, information appeared about the court-ordered dismissal of the head of the UAF, Andrei Pavelko. In response, the local federation reported that it promptly informed FIFA and UEFA of ongoing events that “directly interfered with the activities of the People’s Union in the understanding of the established rules”.

With a series of scandalous stories around Spain and Ukraine, a joint appeal by three European countries may seem overly problematic, especially if events escalate, and this will lead to a deepening of the crisis for each football team. commercial establishments. In this case, Morocco, where there are no serious scandals around the football bodies, could replace Ukraine, becoming a kind of “life buoy” for the Pyrenean partners.

Advantages of Ukraine:

1. Recognition and improvement of moral and ethical aspect. It’s no secret that Ukraine is currently featured in most of the media in various countries of the world, especially in terms of a major war launched against our state by the bloodthirsty neighbor Russia. The overwhelming majority of Western countries and those close to them in civilization understand what is happening in Ukraine, who is responsible for these events, and how important international assistance is for the country and the Ukrainian people at such a difficult time.

Of course, Ukraine will not have time to prepare for the 2030 World Cup on the same level as Spain and Portugal even if the war ends this year, and therefore it is initially about fighting our country in one of the groups. and this is a very symbolic gesture that is perceived positively in the vast majority of European countries.

In particular, the Portuguese Football Federation has made it clear that the inclusion of Ukraine in the practice “aims to contribute, through the power of football, to the restoration of the country in its ongoing reconstruction”. The news about Ukraine’s participation was received no less favorably by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, who stated that “Ukraine will make its contribution”.

But, speaking as pragmatically as possible, Ukraine is interesting for Spain and Portugal in a joint project, first of all, as it will increase recognition and interest in the application, which can increase support outside UEFA. In addition, the participation of Ukraine is, first of all, an increase in the moral and ethical side of decision-making in modern world football. After the scandalous elections in which Russia and Qatar hosted the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, FIFA is still unable to eliminate the allegations of corruption and bribery at the highest levels of this organization.

The inclusion of Ukraine in the application with Spain and Portugal, and the winning of this project more than any other, can prove to everyone that the moral aspect is still important for FIFA, not only in words, but also in actions. At least, as evidenced by the latest voting of the UN General Assembly, Ukraine’s allies, who are in large numbers, will be able to count on the bright future of our country, as well as the end of the war. Show support on the path to full recovery and well-being through football.

Globally speaking, this is all that Ukraine has to offer to Spain and Portugal in the joint fight for the right to host the 2030 World Cup. Doesn’t look like much, does it? Who knows, who knows… Finally, at the beginning of 2022, authoritative Western analysts also gave Ukraine only a few days or a maximum of weeks for a full-scale military action against Russia, but it’s been a year since the entire war. The Ukrainian people are fighting heroically for their own future, proving that no preliminary calculation can fully take into account the spirit and desire for victory, and a quantitative advantage cannot always be turned into a qualitative advantage.