Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter Oppose Joint World Cup Bids (See Details)

Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter has reiterated his view that World Cups should be staged in one country rather than co-hosted by multiple nations.

Blatter, 82, said football’s world governing body is now interested in co-hosted World Cups because it wants to increase the tournament to 48 teams.

A decision on the hosts of the 2026 World Cup will be made on 13 June.

United States, Canada and Mexico have made a joint bid while Morocco has also bid to host the event.

“To have three big countries together… they have proven they can host it alone, so why are the three together?” Blatter told Mani Djazmi, from the BBC’s World Football programme.

Disgraced former president Blatter was in charge of football for 17 years until he was banned amid a corruption scandal in 2015.

The World Cup has only been staged in more than one country once when it was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002, a tournament Blatter says was a “nightmare in organisation”.

He said joint bids were denied from Libya and Tunisia for the 2010 tournament, and Spain and Portugal, and Belgium and the Netherlands for 2018, because of a decision from Fifa not to consider a “combined organisation”.