The door has been left ajar for New Zealand to once again host a Fifa World Cup after the bidding contest was limited to member federations from Asia and Oceania. A unique 2030 Fifa Men’s World Cup looks set to be played in Europe, Africa, and South America, but how would a World Cup look for New Zealand?
The Spain-Portugal 2030 bid grew to add Morocco this year and now also includes long-time bid rivals Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. In times past, one tournament taking place in Europe, Africa and South America would have been seen as impossible, but with the 2024 bidding contest now open - nations will be looking to put their heads together.
Saudi Arabia has long targeted the 2034 edition and on Tuesday formally presented a bid to Fifa.
Australia is also interested after successfully co-hosting the Women’s World Cup this year with New Zealand – leaving the door open for Aotearoa to play a part in hosting the tournament in some fashion, as multi-country bids are now seen as a more cost-effective way to host sporting events of this size.
Football’s governing body has set a tight deadline of October 31 for countries to register their interest, making it difficult for any other nations to receive the Government support they would require.
Australia and New Zealand showed with their hosting of the women’s tournament this year that spreading the load on infrastructure between countries reduces the start-up costs associated with the hosting. Countries are able to use existing stadia - rather than having to construct new ones.
In order to host the men’s edition of a Fifa World Cup - host nations must name 14 stadia that have capacity of 40,000 or more. Currently, there are just 11 across New Zealand and Australia which presents a significant infrastructure roadblock. Furthermore, some of the Australian stadia that meet the criteria are football and cricket ovals that aren’t suitable for football.
Questions have been asked as to how a tournament can take place across six countries and three continents - the newly expanded structure of the tournament essentially now dictates this hosting format as there are very few countries that can host an event of this size with existing infrastructure.
The 48-team, 104-game tournament scheduled for June-July 2030 is planned to start with games in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay before the action moves to the core host nations of Spain, Portugal and Morocco. It involves an unprecedented amount of travel across distances and time zones.
New Zealand Football said following the announcement of the 2030 hosting bid, they are exploring options for future hosting.
“Following the success of the biggest and best-ever Fifa Women’s World Cup this year, New Zealand Football are keen to explore hosting other major Fifa tournaments. We are currently reviewing the decisions made overnight and are awaiting more information from Fifa.”
