The centennial of the World Cup

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Months have passed since the 22nd Edition of the World Cup and since we cannot stop thinking about football, we are preparing for the next edition. Truth be told, it is never too early for those who enjoy football and want to bet huge amounts. We already know that the 23rd Edition will be organized by Canada, Mexico, and the United States. However, the debate over the edition with the greatest meaning is already escalating to dramatic levels.

A new problem to contend with

In the past, the competition of being assigned to organize a final stage of a World Cup, was fierce, as it was not only considered a great honor, but it was also regarded as a boost to the country’s economy through the direct income from the fans that would visit, as well as the indirect revenue from the advertising. Of course, it would require massive improvements of the relevant infrastructure; however, the consensus was that it was well worth it.

However, after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, while the figures say that FIFA makes good profit out of the competitions, there has been serious talk that the host countries do not actually receive the profits they expected. In fact, it has been widely spread that all three of the last editions have resulted in debt for the organizers, leaving them with a potential return on investment from the exploitation of the upgraded infrastructure. There’s even a claim that FIFA takes all of the profit, leaving nothing to the hosts. It is a condition that has resulted in reluctance from single countries to undertake the task of hosting a future tournament.

2030 is the centennial edition and must be specially celebrated

The solution devised to overcome the problem was to follow in the footsteps of the co-hosting of the World Cup by more than one country, as happened in 2002 with Korea and Japan. However, there is an additional issue to consider here. The 2030 World Cup will be celebrating the 100 years of the competition. This translates to special arrangements and something extra to denote the occasion. Here are the possible candidates:

1. The Iberians
Spain and Portugal have submitted their proposal with the advantage of an already existing infrastructure that includes some of the most modern stadia in the world.

2. The Balkans
The second proposal comes from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Serbia. It has not yet been formally submitted as there are some issues to resolve beforehand.

3. The South Americans
The latest development is the candidacy of the Southern Cone: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The whole premise and strong point of the endeavor is for the competition to return where it all started in 1930. However, they have dubbed their application as the «austere proposal» since they will need the assistance of the Latin America Development Bank, which is kind of a negative aspect. Another issue is that it will be the second consecutive time the organization is awarded to the same continent and it reduces their chances even more.

Two out of the three proposals include a first: the co-hosting of four countries. The idea has already received wide support from the majority of the top bookmakers offered via agent. The suggestion of the Southern Cone has received wider acceptance, despite the aforementioned setbacks, not only for historical reasons, but also as it is the continent, that supplies the greatest talents to the entire world.