Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania have all signed a Memorandum of Understanding connected with the joint bid to host either UEFA Euro 2028 or the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
The four countries had already held negotiations concerning the possibility of preparing a joint bid for UEFA Euro 2028 and the 2030 FIFA World Cup, and on Saturday, the nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Thessaloniki to confirm they will make an attempt to host one of the competitions.
Deputy Greek Minister of Culture and Sport Giorgos Vasiliadis, Bulgarian Minister of Youth and Sport Krasen Kralev, Serbian Minister of Youth and Sport Vanja Udovicic and Romanian Minister of Youth and Sport Constantin-Bogdan Matei held a meeting before signing the agreement.
Vasiliadis shared his emotions after putting pen to paper on the Memorandum of Understanding: “This is a very big day, we are moving forward to achieve our dream. We want to bring better days to the Balkan region, and we can be optimistic for the future. Usually, only negative news comes out of the Balkans, but we want to change that. We will show that we can work together. The signing of the memorandum in Thessaloniki displays our intentions.”
President of the Hellenic Football Federation, Evangelos Grammenos, also commented on the event: “We all believe that our joint effort can be successful. This isn’t just about football. I feel that with these developments, the Balkan region will improve while showing that it is capable of hosting such major, important events. As football federations, we must be ready to cooperate alongside political figures.”
Four Greek arenas will be included in the bid, with the Olympic Stadium, Toumba Stadium, Karaiskakis Stadium and the Agia Sofia Stadium (under construction) having been chosen.
Euro 2020 will be held in 12 different countries, before Euro 2024 is hosted by Germany. The 2022 World Cup will be played in Qatar, while the 2024 World Cup will be contested in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
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