MOSCOW, Oct. 8 Former President of the International Football Federation (FIFA ) Joseph Blatter called the decision to hold the final part of the 2030 World Cup in six countries on three continents absurd.
Previously, FIFA announced that the FIFA World Cup in 2030 will be held on three continents for the first time in history — South America, Europe and Africa. The matches of the tournament will be hosted for the first time by six countries — Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Morocco, Spain and Portugal. The event is timed to celebrate the centenary of the World Cup, which was first held in Uruguay in 1930.
«It is absurd to break up the tournament in this way. The final part of the World Cup should be a compact event, this is important for its organization and spectators. In addition, for historical reasons, the 2030 tournament should have been held exclusively in South America,» said 87- summer Blatter, who headed FIFA from 1998 to 2016, in an interview with the newspaper SonntagsBlick.
The Swiss Federal Bureau of Justice in the fall of 2015 opened a case against the then FIFA President Blatter on suspicion of financial fraud. Blatter was suspended from work, and on December 21, 2015, the arbitration chamber of the FIFA ethics committee disqualified him for eight years. On February 24, 2016, the FIFA Appeal Committee reduced the period to six years.