• “Our bid is not an Iberian bid any more, it’s a European bid,” Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish federation (RFEF), said.
• The three-way partnership has “unconditional support” from Uefa, European football’s governing body, according to a statement by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF).
Image: FILE
Ukraine has joined Spain and Portugal’s bid to host the 2030 Fifa World Cup.
Representatives of the Spanish, Portuguese and Ukrainian football associations confirmed their plans at Uefa’s headquarters on Wednesday.
Ukraine was invaded by Russia in February and the war has continued since then with thousands of troops and civilians killed and major cities suffering significant destruction. Spain and Portugal originally announced a joint bid in June 2021.
“Our bid is not an Iberian bid any more, it’s a European bid,” Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish federation (RFEF), said.
“I’m convinced that now our bid is much better than before. Football is universal and if it is capable of changing the life of people in so many ways it should also be used for doing good.”
The three-way partnership has “unconditional support” from Uefa, European football’s governing body, according to a statement by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF).
“The example of tenacity and resilience set by the Ukrainian people is inspiring,” the FPF said. “This proposal aims to contribute through the power of football to the recovery of a country undergoing reconstruction.”
FPF president Fernando Soares Gomes da Silva said: “We are convinced that by 2030 we will have peace in Europe and that Ukraine will be able to host it in the best way possible.”
The Spain, Portugal and Ukraine bid will compete against a joint South American proposal from Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile, as well as a collaboration between Egypt, Greece and Saudi Arabia.
The RFEF said the addition of Ukraine to the bid would not lead to any changes to the planned 11 venues in Spain and three in Portugal.
Meanwhile, former South Africa and Manchester United midfielder Quinton Fortune says he hopes his coaching staff role with England’s Under-20 side can prove a springboard to bigger jobs in future.
Having started in August, Fortune’s latest role as part of the England elite coach programme (EECP) comes after stints as first-team coach at Championship side Reading and with Manchester United and Cardiff City’s Under-23 sides.
The 45-year-old, who was on the books at Old Trafford between 1999 and 2006, sees his new job as a stepping stone towards bigger things in the future.
“I still have ambitions of coaching at a big club. This job provides me with another way of thinking - seeing how the coaches work with younger players,” he told BBC Sport Africa.
“I’m preparing myself for the time when a bigger job comes along. It doesn’t have to be in England, anywhere in the world will be fine.
“For the moment I’m helping these young players improve and, from a personal point of view, getting more experience as a coach.”
The EECP is a joint initiative of the Football Association and Professional Footballer’s Association that was introduced in 2017 to create opportunities for coaches from Black and Asian communities to work with the England national teams to gain international coaching experience.
The role includes working with the coaching staff of the England U20 side that will be playing at the World Cup in Indonesia next May. Fortune, who had been without a job since leaving Reading in February, admitted he was keen to get back into coaching and jumped at the opportunity when it arose.
He was part of the coaching team led by former Liverpool academy coach Ian Foster, that helped the England U20s win all three games — against Morocco, Australia and Chile — at a tournament in Spain in September.
“In addition to working with the players when we have camps, part of my job is to watch players that are in the squad or on the fringes when they are playing for their clubs,” Fortune added.
“I also give as much input as I can to the young players using the experience I’ve gained as a player that has been to two World Cups, a few Africa Cup of Nations and, of course, playing for Manchester United.”