According to The Athletic, Italy are planning a potential joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup with Saudi Arabia.
FIGC President Gabriele Gravina did tell the media yesterday that Italy hoped to ride the wave of enthusiasm from their UEFA EURO 2020 victory by bidding for the 2028 European Championship or the 2030 World Cup.
However, that might not necessarily just have the games on Italian soil, as the trend now is for countries to join together on hosting duties, especially after expanding to 48 teams and 80 games from 2026.
Usually these are neighbouring countries, but Italy could even unite with Saudi Arabia for the World Cup bid.
According to The Athletic, Boston Consultancy Group are advising Saudi Arabia on their potential bid and suggesting a coalition.
This could be with Egypt and Morocco, but Italy are another intriguing alternative.
It’d be the continuation of close business ties, which saw two recent editions of the Italian Supercup played on Saudi soil.
That decision had already caused controversy in Italy because of the poor Saudi human rights, media freedoms and religious tolerance laws, particularly following the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Italy’s victory at the Euros would boost their hopes of hosting a major tournament, especially as a British and Irish joint bid has probably been scuppered by the violent and chaotic scenes around the EURO 2020 Final at Wembley.
Spain and Portugal are the current favourites to win the EURO 2028 hosting rights.
Exclusive: Saudi Arabia are considering a joint bid with Italy for the 2030 World Cup.
It’s not quite as crazy as it seems.
Here’s the story behind it and what it means for Spain, Portugal, England and China possible bids…
— The Athletic UK (@TheAthleticUK) July 16, 2021