Uruguay, Argentina to seek joint 2030 World Cup bid. [View all]

Argentine President Mauricio Macri and his Uruguayan counterpart Tabaré Vázquez agreed yesterday to start working together on a joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2030.

This proposal is not new: it was first formally introduced by former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and former Uruguayan President José “Pepe” Mujica in August 2011.

Analysts believe the joint Uruguay-Argentine bid has a good chance of winning as 2030 will be the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup, which took place in Uruguay (the last one thus far hosted by Uruguay). Argentina hosted its first and so far only World Cup in 1978; both countries won the World Cup in each occasion.

Macri had arrived at Anchorena Ranch — the Uruguayan presidential country retreat — by helicopter at 1pm, accompanied by Cabinet Chief Marcos Peña, Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, and Lower House Speaker Emilio Monzó. “We’ve decided to commit ourselves to filing a joint bid. We want this connection not only to strengthen our economic relationship but also our sports and culture,” Macri noted.

Relations between Argentina and Uruguay had been strained over Uruguay's approval a decade ago of a large UPM-Kymmene (formerly Botnia) wood pulp mill on the Uruguay River (which both countries share). As recently as April 2014, Former Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman had announced that Argentina would take the dispute back to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague after UPM-Kymmene announced plans to increase output at the plant.

Macri, however, stated that he wants to leave tensions in the past. “We are two people united by our history and affections, and we have a future to share,” he said.

At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/206321/uruguay-argentina-to-seek-world-cup-bid