Bids For 2018 And 2022 World Cups
Nine Hopefuls For 2018, Eleven Bidding For 2022, Two Joint Bids
May 20, 2009
Football fans from throughout the world anxiously await December 2010 when FIFA will appoint hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Deadlines
National federations had until March 16, 2009 to submit to FIFA their bid registration forms to host either or both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The deadline to submit to FIFA the full details of their bids is May 14, 2010.
Ineligible
In October 2007, FIFA ruled to end its continental rotation policy to award the football spectacle. Instead, the football body determined that the last two tournament host confederations were ineligible to submit a bid. That left Africa ineligible for 2018 since they are hosting the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. And South America cannot bid for the 2018 or 2022 events after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Bids For 2018 And 2022 World Cups
Here is a breakdown of the nine bids submitted for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups - in alphabetical order.
Australia:The federal government is giving the Football Federation Australia 45.6 million dollars to fund its bid preparation. Australia has hosted the FIFA U20 World Cup twice (1981, 1993) as well as two Oceania Nations Cups (1998, 2004). Other major sporting events in Australia include the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2003 Rugby World Cup and the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Belgium And The Netherlands:Belgium and the Netherlands had considered having Luxembourg also incorporated in the bid, hosting a FIFA congress, but decided against a third nation. A major problem with the joint bid is the lack of an 80,000-seat stadium to host the final. Belgium and the Netherlands jointly hosted the 2000 European Championship.
England:After failing to win the right to host the 2006 World Cup, England looked into hosting the 2018 event. England have plenty of top stadiums for FIFA to choose from. The "homeland of football" previously hosted the 1966 World Cup and the 1996 European Championship. England would become the sixth nation to host the World Cup a second time.
Indonesia: Indonesia launched its "Green World Cup Indonesia 2022" campaign, including a 1 billion dollar plan to upgrade infrastructure and stadiums to meet FIFA's requirements. Indonesia appeared at the 1938 World Cup as the Dutch East Indies and hosted the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.
Japan:The 2002 co-hosts Japan would become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice. Japan do not have an 80,000-seat stadium but Toyko have a 100,000 seater in planning as part of the bid for the 2016 Olympics.
Mexico: Mexico announced their intention to host another World Cup in 2005, looking at 2014. If chosen, Mexico would be the third nation to host three World Cups. The 105,000-seat Estadio Azteca - the world's largest football stadium - has hosted two World Cup finals.
Portugal And Spain: Spain initially wanted to submit an individual bid before filing jointly with Portugal. Spain hosted the 1982 World Cup and Portugal hosted the 2004 European Championship.
Russia: Russia have the support of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The nation hopes to have five stadiums big enough to host World Cup matches by 2013. Two of them would be in Moscow and one in Sochi, which will host the 2014 Winter Olympics.
United States: The United States are looking to host the World Cup for a second time after 1994, which set financial, attendance and average attendance record. The U.S. have since hosted the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women's World Cups. U.S. President Barack Obama is fully supportive of the bid.
Bids For Only 2022 World Cup
Qatar (only 2022): Qatar will have to convince officials to look past summer temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius to become the first Arab nation to host the World Cup. Qatar will be counting on support from the entire Arab world.
South Korea (only 2022):The 2002 co-hosts South Korea would become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice. The 2002 World Cup was a huge success in South Korea as the co-hosts reached the semi-finals.
Blatter Speaks Out Against Joint Bids
Fans from the two joint bids should not be too confident of winning the bid. On January 30, 2009, FIFA President Sepp Blatter told a news conference in Asuncion, Paraguay: 'As long as we have single-country bids which provide all the necessary guarantees we will reject co-hosting bids.'
