World Cup fever happens to have hit Chile a bit harder than one would have expected. A year away from their big year, the South American nation is looking at their sporting future with tremendous ambition.
The president of the Chilean FA (ANFP), Sergio Jadue, announced that they are beginning to analyze a potential World Cup bid for the 2030 edition. ”If we have a good Copa América as well as a U-17 World Cup (in 2015), then we should consider preparing a bid for the World Cup,” said Jadue on Monday.
“There is a great chance that (Chilean president) Michele Bachelet would be on board with this bid,” said the ANFP president. ”The World Cup would be a great expense, but it would also generate a great deal of infrastructure and it has nothing to do with what is going on right now in Brazil,” he added.
Chile would be throwing their hat into a race that would see them behind the eight-ball as Argentina and Uruguay’s joint bid currently is the one that is being seriously looked at by FIFA. The two nations are the ones that are being looked at more for sentimental reasons, as FIFA would be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the World Cup by having the two teams that originally played the first final to host it jointly.
Jadue even took a moment to take a shot at the Argentines and Uruguayans and started to “Uruguay is a small country of 2.5 million people and is a very small market,” said Jadue. “Argentina on the other part has a deep crisis every so often.” The current federation president mentioned this while the Chilean national team prepare in Belo Horizonte’s Toca Da Raposa II complex for their participation in the World Cup. La Roja’s odds are not sure if they are a good bet on the World Cup in Brazil as Chile have a 40/1 chance to win the entire tournament.
What the president of the ANFP is talking about is making Chile the safe option as they, from a economic standpoint are one of the most solid and stable economies in Latin America. This also, based their argument, gives them a great deal of stability especially after Chile and the US signed a Free Trade Agreement.
Chile would like to become sixth nation to host the World Cup for a second occasion after having done so back in 1962. In that tournament Chile reached the semifinal for the only time in their history before being eliminated by eventual finalist Czechoslovakia.
