4 Balkan states plan to make joint bid to host 2030 World Cup

The leaders of four Balkan countries say they will make a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup, AP reported Friday. The prime ministers of Bulgaria, Greece and Romania and the president of Serbia are ready to make an official bid to host the soccer event in stadiums across the four countries. The idea was announced on the sidelines of a regional meeting in the Black Sea resort of Varna. The 2030 contest is not officially open. However, South American soccer leaders are already promoting a three-way centenary bid by Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, which was the original World Cup host in 1930. English soccer officials have launched a feasibility study into bidding in partnership with Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland.