The FIFA World Cup is currently being hosted in the Middle East for the first time.
FIFA has said that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is likely to be the last of such tournaments to be hosted by a single nation.
FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani made the comments in an interview with Fox Sports, in which he said collaboration is ideal.
“I don’t think you’ll see another World Cup held in one country again,” Montagliani said.
“This is just me guessing, but I don’t. Not because one country can’t host it. The U.S. easily could. But the reality is that collaboration is always better. It cements ties with your neighbors politically and economically, and it’s easier to go to a government when they’re not carrying the whole load. It works on so many levels.”
While the decision is not final just yet, it does reflect upcoming plans by FIFA.
The upcoming 2026 World Cup has already been confirmed as a joint collaboration between the US, Mexico and Canada, while contenders for the 2030 bids include several camps.
Portugal, Spain and Ukraine have put their names in a hat for joint 2030 hosting, competing with Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay as well as Egypt, Greece and Saudi Arabia, according to reports.
Montagliani’s comments were made this week as Qatar wrapped up an intense set of Round of 16 matches that saw some footballing giants exit the tournament.
Qatar is the first Arab and Muslim nation to host the FIFA World Cup, held in the Middle East region for the first time in the tournament’s history.
So far, Qatar 2022 has been described as a major success, with officials from around the world applauding the Gulf state.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak commended Qatar for its efforts in hosting what he described as “an incredible World Cup” in a tweet just minutes before England played Senegal on Sunday.
“Hats off to Qatar for hosting an incredible World Cup so far,” Sunak said, adding: “The group stages will be remembered as one of the all-time greats.”
His comments came a day after FIFA announced that the Qatar World Cup 2022 has seen the highest attendance of fans in the tournament’s history.
The Gulf nation saw a ground-breaking of 88,966 fans at the Argentina v. Mexico match at Lusail Stadium on 26 November, marking the highest such figure in FIFA’s history.
Adding to the success of being the first-ever World Cup held in the Arab world, Qatar received 2.45 million fans, an average of 96% occupancy.
Qatar has also stood up to criticism from Western media, which doubted its readiness to host the sporting event, citing its geographical size.
