FIFA President Gianni Infantino gave "tentative backing" to a joint World Cup bid by Argentina and Uruguay on Monday, suggesting the history of the two South American nations made them "serious candidates to host the tournament" in '30, according to Daniela Desantis of REUTERS. FIFA held one joint World Cup in Japan and South Korea in '02 but "has since come out against future joint bids." However, Infantino told CONMEBOL officials that he was "not against co-hosting the tournament." Infantino said, "An important theme is whether the World Cup can be played in more than one country. FIFA has been very much against a joint organization. I personally support it. 2030 is a very important year and history must be respected." Uruguay was awarded the first World Cup in 1930 and beat Argentina 4-2 in the final. The two countries have on "various occasions over the past few years expressed a wish at both Football Association and government level to stage the centennial tournament" (REUTERS, 3/29). ESPN reported earlier this month, Infantino said that FIFA must make the World Cup bidding process "bullet-proof." A report into corruption allegations surrounding the 2006 World Cup concluded that a payment of €6.7M from the German Football Federation (DFB) to FIFA in April '05 "could not be ruled out." The award of the '18 and '22 tournaments to Russia and Qatar have "also been tainted by allegations of corruption" and Infantino -- who wants to start the '26 process within three months -- said that FIFA had to "ensure such allegations could not be made again" (ESPN, 3/29).
