A phone call condensed the political dimension of the entire process. Chilean President Gabriel Boric called his Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernández and asked him why his country had not been chosen to host the 2030 World Cup. Fernández responded with a formality: it was not within his jurisdiction. However, the claim suggested that a commitment had not been kept. Once again the interface between football and power became clear.
Last Wednesday, FIFA announced that the 2030 Cup, which will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, will also include honorary games in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. The pretext is that it commemorates the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup in Montevideo.
The Chileans took the news of the exclusion like a bucket of cold water. They had been preparing to take on a role they last held in 1962. The expectation had administrative implications, which are now under discussion: the state budget allocated resources to the championship since 2020 Register Chile as one of the host cities of the championship.
Boric has little leeway to continue assuming bad news. The economy shows mediocre numbers. Corruption scandals are raging in Chile, although they seem like venial sins compared to those of some neighbors. And the constitutional reform process has an absurd course: it began as a demand from the left, but after the election of 50 constitutional councilors last May, the drafting of the new text was left to the right. This means that the left-wing Boric government will have to accept an unpleasant constitution to replace the current one, which is even more unpleasant because it is the constitution that the country inherited from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Last week, the commission of experts drafting the new Magna Carta received the text approved by the committee of 50 city councilors elected in May. There will be another consultation in December. The traditional political parties began to rehearse together to prevent the new constitution from being rejected by citizens again.
For Boric, the announcement that Chile would be one of the World Cup host cities would have been a balm. But the selected countries had arguments that deserved this award. Uruguay, more than any other. In 2030 the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup will be celebrated in Montevideo. The Uruguayans had won two competitions that were a foretaste of an international cup organized by FIFA: the 1924 and 1928 Olympic Games. Argentina also claimed a right: to have won the 2023 cup. The Chileans wanted to take Paraguay’s place. But this country is the headquarters of Conmebol, whose chairman is Alejandro Domínguez, a figure linked to football through strong family ties. Beyond the always discreet influence that the controversial former president Horacio Cartes, Domínguez’s political godfather, has on the institutions of this sport.
The inclusion of Chile would have been difficult despite the invitation to apply. It should be noted that there will be three other venues. Two European, Spain and Portugal, and one African, Morocco, also chosen as a friendly gesture towards the Arab world. It must be understood that these movements also have geopolitical significance. A few years ago, the World Championships were held in emerging countries: South Africa, Russia, Qatar. In a distorting oversimplification, one could say that they have moved from the G7 countries to the Brics countries.
The novelty will be in 2026 when it will be played in North America. The world championship of the old NAFTA. It is the revenge of Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, who were humiliated in 2010 when the United States lost the battle with Russia and Qatar. The reaction was the outbreak of a corruption scandal that almost brought down FIFA.
The upcoming World Championships have another special feature. They are no longer carried out in a single location. The formula of the 2002 Cup, which was held in Japan and Korea, will be adopted. The recipe is now much more sophisticated. For those chosen, the logistics will be very complex. Especially in 2030. For example, a team has to play a game in Europe and five days later move to another continent. How will supporters continue to pursue this path? It’s still a mystery. It is also a problem for journalistic coverage of the entire championship.
The new system brings with it further disadvantages. Because the host countries are pre-qualified, there will be far fewer teams in the qualifying phase. At the same time, the competition will be expanded to 48 teams for the first time in 2026. A ploy by Gianni Infantino to consolidate his power.
These difficulties arise from a political problem: it is no longer tolerated for a country to spend a fortune on party organization. It is a lie that the deals reached with the parties compensate for the deficit that arises in the state accounts. Now we have to share the costs. A tribute to budget constraints. Because before they are fans, football fans are taxpayers.
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