Singapore part of Thai-led Asean working group for possible 2034 World Cup joint bid

BANGKOK — Thailand will lead a working group with four other Asean countries to look into a bid to host the 2034 Fifa World Cup.

The move to establish a Technical Working Group led by Thailand was agreed at the fifth Asean Ministerial Meeting on Sports in Manila on Wednesday (Oct 9).

The other four countries in the working group are Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

According to Thailand's Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Wednesday's meeting approved the five-nation working group to bring the World Cup to South-east Asia in 2034.

The participants agreed that Thailand would play the leading role in the bid, Mr Phiphat said.

He said he would bring the matter to the Thai cabinet for approval later.

Other countries which have shown interest in staging the 2034 World Cup include China, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and joint bidders Australia and New Zealand.

Qatar will stage the second World Cup on Asian soil in 2022 after Japan and South Korea jointly staged the 2002 finals.

Several South-east Asian countries have talked about hosting the World Cup for years.

During the Asean summit in Bangkok in June, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said leaders of the bloc had pledged their support to bring the 2034 World Cup to the region.

However, a few days later the football associations of Indonesia and Australia said they were in talks for a joint bid to host the 2034 World Cup.

Indonesia is the only South-east Asian country to have participated in the World Cup when it was known as the Dutch East Indies. BANGKOK POST