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Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece to file joint bid to host FIFA World Cup 2030

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said it was Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' idea

BELGRADE, November 2. /TASS/. Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece will file a joint bid for hosting FIFA World Cup 2030, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters after a meeting with other leaders in the Bulgarian city of Varna.

"We agreed to file a joint bid from our four countries to host FIFA World Cup 2030. I will be honest, it was Alexis Tsipras' [Greek Prime Minister] idea," Vucic said.

The Serbian president said that the main competitors of the Balkan countries are Argnetina, Paraguay and Uruguay who are also planning to file a joint bid. Since the US, Mexico and Canada won the joint bid for World Cup 2026, the chances of the Balkan countries are increasing, since one Latin American country, Mexico, will take part in hosting the championship. This decreases the chances of other Latin American countries for hosting the next World Cup, Vucic explained.

He noted that Serbia will also file a separate bid for hosting UEFA European Championship 2028. "This will be a problem, of course, but will also serve as a great impetus to start working and thinking about how we can improve our stadiums and sport infrastructure," Vucic stressed.

On Friday, prime ministers of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Israel and president of Serbia discussed prospects for economic cooperation in Bulgaria's Varna. On top of the agenda were issues of development and interdependence between the countries in energy, infrastructure and digital spheres.