Gabriel Boric in Santiago, on August 16th. Elvis Gonzalez (EFE)
Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced on Wednesday evening that his government will take action following FIFA’s decision to “exclude” Chile from organizing the 2030 Men’s World Cup, which, as announced that day, will take place in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, but three opening games are in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. He did this in a press statement in the Coquimbo region of northern Chile, where the president excluded any responsibility of his government in a decision that caused anger in Chilean society and provoked criticism from the leader of the Chilean Republican Party of the extreme right, José Antonio Kast .
“There will be no World Cup in Chile in 2030. This government is doing nothing right,” Kast wrote on the social network X, formerly Twitter, after which the controversy quickly escalated to the political stage.
There will be no World Cup in Chile in 2030. This government is not doing anything good.
— José Antonio Kast Rist 🇨🇱 (@joseantoniokast) October 4, 2023
For Boric, “this is not a decision in which the government has committed any kind of negligence.” “It is FIFA’s own decision. I discussed it with the presidents of Argentina and Paraguay and they found out when this notice was published. They were not aware of that before,” the Chilean confirmed the information published that day about his calls to his South American counterparts Alberto Fernández and Santiago Peña.
Boric questioned FIFA: “We have complied with absolutely everything that was required,” referring to the bid together with Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to take part in the organization of the 2030 World Cup, on which Chile was working intensively. “I regret that there are institutions that act dubiously and unexpectedly, and of course we will assert all the rights that Chile is entitled to, because the national integrity and the name of Chile are not being played with,” the president said. Leftist.
The drop in the Chilean nomination occurred this Wednesday without prior announcement or notification, although the candidacy was a goal of both the Boric government and his predecessor Sebastián Piñera, who announced in February 2019: “A few months ago I proposed to the President of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, Chile to integrate and jointly apply to organize the 2030 World Cup. This proposal was accepted by the three countries and also by the Chilean ANFP. After the 1962 World Cup, Chile will have a new chance.”
The sports journalist Aldo Schiappacasse wrote this Wednesday in EL PAÍS that “the painful news surprised those responsible and officials who had worked on the joint proposal, which was suddenly destroyed.” All countries win, as does FIFA, but the unsuspecting one Chile loses, said Schiappacasse. “Chile is losing, and the first rumors after the blow of having been betrayed by those around them speak of two decisive factors: the judicial crusade against the powerful betting companies and the government’s intention to change the laws that regulate football Make the ownership structure of the clubs transparent and monitor it. Neither reason seems very plausible.”
Boric wasn’t the only one to speak on this topic. La Moneda spokeswoman Camila Vallejo described FIFA’s decision as “a very bitter surprise” in an interview on Mega television on Wednesday evening. The minister assured: “It is bad news for our country, for our government and for the people who had the common dream of hosting a World Cup in South America, because this proposal, which was agreed upon by four countries and which came into being Juntos 2030 Corporation had the idea that South America would be the headquarters in 2030. “And unfortunately that will not be possible today,” Vallejo continued, referring to a company that wanted to promote the South American candidacy and that the Boric government financed through the Ministry of Sports.
The minister spoke about changing the rules of the game in the bidding process: “We understand FIFA’s autonomy, its statutes, its procedures, but the truth is that we submitted a candidacy and were waiting for the bidding process to open.” That was for the first half of next year. And here there was obviously a change in the application format. This is a reality. We are increasing the candidacy. We have been preparing for more than a year,” Vallejo said.
South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) President Alejandro Domínguez explained why Chile was left out. “Originally there was talk of two countries, namely Uruguay and Argentina. Then the World Cup was expanded from 32 to 48 teams and in this context Paraguay and then Chile were added. It is true that Chile is not there on this occasion, but that does not mean that we will not push for Chile to be there, or that we will find something of this size to do so. It is a decision made by FIFA, not us. They are the ones who determine how and what. “This is the moment when we have to start working on the venues,” Domínguez said of the hard blow for Chilean football and fans.