2030 World Cup: Portugal ‘not consulted’ by Spain over joint bid to challenge England

Spain’s bid to crush England-led hopes of staging the 2030 World Cup was thrown into chaos today when potential partners Portugal said they had not yet been consulted.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced plans to bring Morocco into a three-nation bid to host the tournament after a visit to the north African nation yesterday.

He was said to have received a “positive response” from his Moroccan counterpart, Saadedin Al Othmani, and the country’s monarch, King Mohamed VI, during his trip to Rabat.

But Portugal’s Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, immediately threw a spanner in the works, insisting there has been no consultation.

“It’s an uncertain idea that has never been officially put to us,” he said.

“When it is, we will obviously have to study it, but I am not going to talk about things that haven’t been officially communicated to us.” He branded the idea “useful” but expensive.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has already voiced his backing for an England-led British Isles campaign, putting Spain on a potential collision course with England if both countries persist in their efforts to stage the prestigious competition.

Portugal’s Education Minister, Tiago Brandao Rodrigues, also appeared to rule out a three-nation bid by saying his understanding was FIFA regulations prevented joint bids involving two different federations.

Uefa are the governing body of European football, whereas Morocco are a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Spain, which last hosted the World Cup in 1982, signalled its intention to throw its hat into the ring in September in a shock broadside for the planned British Isles bid, involving England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

It had been rumoured Portugal and Spain might go it alone in their bid to stage the tournament, and Morocco team up with Algeria and Tunisia.

FIFA boss Gianni Infantino threw his support behind Spain by accompanying football chief, Luis Rubiales, to a meeting on September 13 with the prime minister, when he was asked to support a potential bid. The option of hosting Euro 2028 was also mooted.