Spain and Portugal are applying together with Ukraine for the 2030 World Cup. The three associations involved announced this on Wednesday after a briefing at the European Football Association (UEFA) in Nyon.

"It has been officially announced that Portugal, Spain and Ukraine are submitting a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup," the Ukrainian FA said.

"This is the dream of millions of Ukrainian fans," said President Andriy Pavelko.

The Spanish FA said they would include Ukraine in the bid, with the support of UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, "to build bridges and spread a message of unity, solidarity and generosity across European football".

According to the Portuguese Federation (FPF), the conditions for Ukraine's accession to the candidacy would be discussed and finalized in due course.

Better chances with Ukraine

The initiative is supported by the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, whose country is suffering from the Russian war of aggression, and the governments in Madrid and Lisbon, "El Mundo" had already reported the day before.

Numerous discussions have already been held in recent weeks.

With the involvement of Ukraine, Spain and Portugal probably have better chances of winning the 2030 World Cup.

According to the Spanish media, the South American applicants Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, who want to jointly host the 24th Men's Soccer World Cup, have so far been considered to be significantly more promising candidates.

One of the reasons for this is that 2030 will mark the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup in Uruguay.

In addition, the last World Cup in the region took place in Brazil in 2014.

There are other possible competitors.

The governments of Bulgaria and Greece had already announced a joint candidacy with Romania and Serbia in 2018.

The government of Morocco is also considering a candidacy.

The president of the world association FIFA, Gianni Infantino, recently brought up a possible staging by Israel and several Arab countries.

There is no application deadline yet.

After the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the next tournament will take place in 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico.