Why South America is lukewarm on a 2030 World Cup on home soil

After losing to Spain last month, the defeated and dejected Argentina players had one crumb of consolation: They knew where their next FIFA World Cup match would be taking place. For the first time since 1978, the World Cup returns to Argentina in 2030 -- a full 52 years later, during which time both the United States and Mexico have had two bites at the cherry. And so, perhaps belatedly, the greatest show on earth is back in Argentina -- and it also goes to Paraguay for the very first time. This should be big news. Paraguay has hosted the Copa América only once in the competition's 110-year history. And, for the first time in a century, the World Cup will take place in Uruguay, too. Centenario Stadium in Montevideo was built in 1930 for the inaugural World Cup, its construction a homage to 100 years of Uruguay's constitution. Now, the Centenario stands ready to celebrate its own centenary with the opening game of the 2030 tournament. But if this is all a celebration, where is the joy? Come the next World Cup, Brazil 2014 will be the only time South America has seen the World Cup in over half a century, and yet there is a distinct lack of widespread interest, let alone rejoicing. This is easy to explain. As it stands, the 2030 World Cup will feature precisely one game in Uruguay, one in Argentina, and one in Paraguay. Blink and you will miss it. The real tournament hosts are Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Awarding three games to South America comes across as a sop, a weak gesture to the continent and its immense role in getting the tournament underway. Politically, it also clears Europe, Africa and South America out of the way and makes it easier to take the 2034 tournament to Saudi Arabia. South America was not amused. The idea of a 64-team competition was discusseded by CONMEBOL, the continent's soccer confederation. Long-term, this is of little interest to South America. The current total of 48 works well. Of the 10 CONMEBOL countries, six qualify automatically with the seventh going into an international playoff and, despite the numbers, the marathon qualification process remains competitive and interesting. Enlarge to 64 and the qualifiers, a key source of revenue for many of the countries, lose their relevance. But for 2030, South America is extremely interested in an increase -- on the basis that an expanded tournament would give them more games to host. Even with one match, there will be a need to improve the stadium -- as Paraguay is even planning to build one and upgrade the infrastructure. An expanded World Cup would, in all probability, mean that South America would be awarded more matches, making the whole endeavor more cost-effective. All of this helps explain the position taken by CONMEBOL during the recent crisis involving FIFA president Gianni Infantino. As controversy swirled, with Infantino private equity plan announced and quickly howled down, South America kept quiet. There was no immediate rush to defend the FIFA president -- who had, after all, not given them what they wanted in terms of the 2030 World Cup. But there was also no desire to make matters worse. South America has only 10 votes. The continent needs to construct allies, and although there has been a closing of relations with UEFA in recent years, there remains a fear of European domination. Can Europe really be trusted to have the best interests of the global game at heart? It was the Brazilian João Havelange who put together an alliance with Africa and parts of Asia back in 1974, which saw FIFA lose European control. It is no coincidence that since then there have been more popes than FIFA presidents -- in an environment where the 211 member associations all have one vote, the top job in soccer carries with it an enormous power of patronage. And the signs are that South America believes that sticking with Infantino will probably give it the best chance of being part of a 64-team World Cup in 2030. But even that can come across as something of a hollow victory. However much of the tournament is played in South America, it still looks like a clumsy gesture. The important part of the 2030 World Cup will be taking place thousands of miles away, under very different conditions. June and July in Argentina and Uruguay, and possibly Paraguay as well, can be like walking inside a fridge, with a bitter winter wind blowing up from the South Pole. Spain, Portugal and Morocco, meanwhile, will be basking in furious summer sunshine. If the fans in South America are hardly ecstatic about the 2030 World Cup, the players may have genuine cause for concern about such a massive temperature difference on the two sides of the Atlantic.