World Cup 2030: Seize it or Regret it?…

If, at the end of the last century, someone had told me that Portugal would host a World Cup final phase, I would have thought them mad. Even a European Championship. In 1999, when the country was awarded Euro 2004, it felt like an improbable dream.

Because that's precisely what it was: a dream, fraught with risks and audacious ambition, but also backed by a crucial lobbying effort. This brought together football federation officials, prominent figures in the sport, and government institutions to convince UEFA to grant the country an event that seemed highly unlikely just a few years prior.

It always comes down to uniting wills, organization, and talent. This is the trilogy of success, especially when operating at levels constantly under intense international scrutiny. The visibility gained can leverage economic and developmental factors that would be far less prominent with any other event not related to the beautiful game.

The same applies now. The 2030 World Cup is just around the corner. With 48 teams (at a minimum, lest FIFA add another 16 for an unprecedented 64-team format to celebrate the centenary of the planet's biggest competition).

Because that's what it is: the biggest, alongside the Olympic Games (also quadrennial), and the Tour de France, in its unique annual format. Given everything it mobilizes across various sectors and multiple dimensions, the 2030 World Cup cannot be overlooked. It represents a golden opportunity for a small, peripheral European country (yes, let's not stray from Portugal's actual reality…). It offers a chance for widespread image dissemination across the globe, knowing that television airtime is incredibly valuable, and anything that can be marshaled for national promotion and projection will be immeasurably beneficial.

Are we prepared? Does Portugal grasp what's coming? Both in terms of direct promotion to 47 potential visiting delegations (though many won't set foot on national soil, given the tripartite organization involving Spain and Morocco), and in terms of recognition — after evaluation — from media outlets worldwide, and the unique sensitivity of tourists who expect the best atmosphere, the finest cuisine, top-tier hospitality, and excellent service…

Is Portugal ready? More than that, or even long before that: is Portugal aware of the immense challenge ahead, arriving at lightning speed, considering that the consolidation of structures and circumstances is immediate?

The tourism and hospitality structures, including the significant role of restaurants, in the quality of prepared and consumed products, but above all, in the service, which we must elevate to the highest standards.

The sporting dimension, from the added value provided by training centers and facilities, to the direct benefits offered to each delegation that visits the country.

The human dimension, in the direct awareness of the responsibility of hosting the centenary World Cup and, essentially, the magnificent opportunity it represents to welcome an event whose transversal impact and resulting profits are difficult to project at the outset, and will certainly be surprisingly measurable upon its conclusion.

The 2030 World Cup is an unforgettable opportunity to showcase Portugal. In its obvious sporting dimension, directly related to the participating teams and the schedule to be determined, but also, in a holistic and comprehensive vision, in its tourism, cultural, and heritage dimensions.

It will be difficult to find such a small and rich territory in these aspects, which, as a direct consequence, allows for coordinated, thoughtful, and articulated programming for the widespread dissemination of an image that combines historical values, heritage, gastronomy, nature, and humanism.

Five facets of a handful of added values, which must be considered specifically, individually, but with the perspective of a joint framework, allowing the country to be its own best ambassador and the best trump card for the medium and long term.

Because, while the 104 matches (101 will be played between Spain, Portugal, and Morocco) conclude in five and a half weeks, the collateral impact they will generate will endure, for better or worse, for one or two generations to come.

Portugal has the great advantage of not needing to build structures from scratch: excellent transport links, magnificent hotel facilities, good training centers, and calm, safe access (Beja and its airport will always be crucial in the context of such a specific event…).

So, let's leverage what directly depends on us: quality service, the preparation of dishes that set us apart, the smile, the castles that exude history, the beaches that invite swimming, the generous topography of a diverse territory, always considering such a small and contained geographical dimension.

Let's be competent. The 2030 World Cup begins tomorrow, and it's a sacred opportunity to invoke our best qualities: to welcome well, to treat better, to consider above average, and to value our assets. Let's be more than Portuguese. Let's be global citizens, and the world will recognize it.

And reward it.