Ukraine and Poland's Joint World Cup Bid Plans for the 2040s
Ukraine has set its sights on the biggest stage in world football, sketching out the outline of a possible joint World Cup bid with Poland – not for the next decade, or even the one after that, but somewhere deep into the 2040s.
The idea surfaced publicly when Ukraine’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Matviy Bidnyy, spoke to Politico and outlined a long-range vision that ties football’s showpiece tournament to the country’s eventual reconstruction.
“The next available date for the World Cup is sometime in the 2040s. We need to start planning for that now,” Bidnyy said, framing the concept less as a concrete project and more as a strategic horizon.
For Ukraine, the discussion is about more than hosting a tournament. It is about what kind of country emerges after war, and how sport can help shape that picture. Bidnyy stressed that Ukraine wants to remain a nation that competes for and stages the biggest events on the global calendar, even as it fights for survival.
“We will work on this… We continue to be a country focused on the greatest sporting achievements. This is part of our national culture, and we want to develop it despite all these difficulties,” he noted, linking elite sport to national identity and resilience.
The mention of Poland as a potential partner instantly drew attention. The two neighbours have long-standing sporting and political ties, and Poland has recent experience of co-hosting a major tournament after staging Euro 2012 with Ukraine. A World Cup collaboration decades from now would feel like a natural extension of that history.
But the brakes went on quickly.
Once the interview was published, Ukraine’s Ministry of Youth and Sports moved to cool any sense that a bid was already in motion. In a clarification, officials underlined that there are no official negotiations or consultations with Poland about a joint World Cup bid at this stage. The concept remains just that: a concept.
Bidnyy also pointed out that any formal bid would have to come from within the game itself – from the football community or the relevant federation – not simply from a political or governmental initiative. For now, the discussion lives in the space between ambition and reality.
The ministry’s follow-up statement made the national priorities plain. Ukraine’s focus, it stressed, is victory in the war and the safety of its citizens. Hosting a World Cup belongs in the realm of long-term vision, not operational planning or immediate policy.
On the global calendar, the road ahead is already mapped out. FIFA has awarded the 2030 World Cup to a three-nation ticket of Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, while Saudi Arabia will stage the 2034 edition. That leaves the 2040s as the next open window for new hosts to emerge.
For Ukraine, that window lies far beyond today’s frontline realities. Yet the fact that officials are even talking about a World Cup in that era hints at something important: a belief that when the guns fall silent, the country intends not just to rebuild, but to step back onto football’s grandest stage and invite the world in.
