The CDU, a majority partner in the German government along with the Social Democrats, will speak at its federal conference on February 20 and 21, based on a motion of agreement from its western district of Rhine-Erft.
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“The federal party conference of the CDU Germany can decide: The CDU Germany supports Germany’s bid to FIFA to host the FIFA Men’s World Cup in 2042,” reads the motion seen by dpa and first published in the Rheinische Post newspaper.
Based on the German motto of the 2006 World Cup, the movement translates as “The world as a guest among friends 2.0.” The official English motto for 2006 was “A time to make friends”.
According to the motion, the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz will prepare a concept and “encourage and positively support” a bid by the German Football Association (DFB).
He said authoritarian countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been named hosts for 2022 and 2034, and that those countries are only using the World Cup to “polish their image.”
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That is why Germany, as the host country, should “represent the values ​​of football, such as fair play, the rule of law and democracy.”
Germany hosted the men’s World Cup in 1974 and 2006, and the European Championship in 1988 and 2024.
Looking ahead to 2038 and 2042, DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said he could in principle imagine “that in the future we will address this issue and examine the conditions under which such an offer would be conceivable.”
Neuendorf said that only a few federations had the infrastructure to host such a 48-team tournament and that “we can safely say that we have that infrastructure.”
The next World Cup is this summer in the United States, Mexico and Canada, the 2030 edition in six countries but mainly in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, and the 2034 tournament in Saudi Arabia.