UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has said Europe will fight tooth and nail to land the World Cup in any of the continent’s countries in 2030.
Ceferin says the decision to deny Europe the 2026 tournament prevents China – who are keen to stage a World Cup – from doing so in 2030.
“Those are the regulations,” Ceferin said at a Cardiff news conference. “Qatar is part of the Asian Football Confederation so they [China] cannot go for 2030.
“It is the same thing, you cannot bid until after two World Cups. Of course 2030 is Europe’s turn — clearly. We will fight for a European host.”
China’s growing impact on world football was underlined on Wednesday when FIFA signed up another major Chinese sponsor.
Smartphone maker Vivo signed a €400 million (£347m) deal to back the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.