2018 FIFA World Cup bids

This article concerns the process for determining the site of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which will be the 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup. Bidding to host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups will close in 2009, and the executive committee of FIFA will make their decision on both editions before June 2011.[1] Nations that have announced their interest include Australia,[2] England,[3] Qatar,[1] and Russia.[4] The Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) have expressed interest in bidding together,[5] as have Portugal and Spain.[6] FIFA expects several other countries to announce their intent before the 2009 closing date, including China,[7] Canada,[8] Japan,[9] Mexico,[10] and the United States.[11]

On October 29 2007, FIFA announced that it is ending the rotation policy, with countries from the continental confederations of the previous two hosts, CAF and CONMEBOL, being ineligible.[12] Other factors in the selection process include the number of suitable stadia, and their location across candidate nations. Due to the number of bids already received by FIFA, this World Cup is expected to be the most hotly contested bid ever, mainly due to the revision in FIFA's rotation policy. As a result, Sepp Blatter has said that FIFA may follow the International Olympic Committee and have a preliminary elimination of bids some time before the final ceremony.[13]

Contents

Rotation policy

Map of the World with the six confederations.

Following the selection of the 2006 World Cup hosts, FIFA decided on new policy for determining the host of future world cups. The six world confederations, roughly corresponding to continents, would rotate, with the host country being selected from the confederation's members. This system was only used for the selection of the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. In September 2007, the rotation system came under review when it was proposed that only the last two World Cup host confederations be ineligible.[14] This proposal was adopted on October 29, 2007 in Zürich, Switzerland by FIFA's Executive Committee. Under this policy, a 2018 bid can come from North America, Asia, Europe, or Oceania, as the 2010 hosts, Africa, and the 2014 hosts, South America, are ineligible.[2]

Bidding nations

Confirmed Unconfirmed
Map of 2018 FIFA World Cup bids.svg
Flag of Australia Australia Flag of Canada Canada
Flag of Belgium Belgium/Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands/Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg Flag of the People's Republic of China China
Flag of England England Flag of Japan Japan
Flag of Portugal Portugal/Flag of Spain Spain Flag of Mexico Mexico
Flag of Qatar Qatar[15] Flag of the United States United States
Flag of Russia Russia[16][4]        Officially bidding      Unconfirmed status      Ineligible confederations

Australia

A football friendly was played between Australia and Paraguay at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium in 2006.

Football Federation Australia have confirmed that Australia will officially bid for the 2018 World Cup finals.[17] In late May 2006, the Victorian sports minister, Justin Madden, said that he wanted his state to drive a bid to stage the 2018 World Cup. He was quoted as saying "If FIFA is serious about growing the game in the Asia-Pacific region, then the time cannot be too far away where they need to move into the region", and "Where else would they put it but Australia?"[18] FFA chief Ben Buckley has said that Australia are preparing to launch a bid to host the 2018 tournament.[9]

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has formally announced the Federal Government's support for the bid."Winning the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup is a herculean task, but overcoming tough odds is what Australian football does best," he said. [19] Frank Lowy the FFA chairman stated that they are aiming to use 16 stadiums for the bid.[20] At the 58th FIFA Congress held in Sydney, FIFA president Sepp Blatter stated "As the next two World Cups will be in the southern hemisphere, it is perhaps logical that Australia concentrates on the 2022 tournament."[1] Lowy responded by recommitting Australia to its 2018 bid.[21]

Australia hosted the OFC Nations Cup twice (1998, and 2004), and four-way co-hosted once (1996). Australia has also enjoyed success hosting other major sporting events recently, with the 2000 Summer Olympics held in Sydney, the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne and the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. Australia is likely to host the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, which could be used as a test event for the World Cup.

Belgium and the Netherlands

The Amsterdam ArenA opened in 1996.

Alain Courtois, a Belgian Member of Parliament in charge of the bid and a leader of the organisation committee for Euro 2000 (jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands), announced in October 2006 that a formal bid would be made for the Benelux trio, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.[5] In June 2007, the three countries launched their campaign not as a joint bid in the manner of the Korea-Japan World Cup in 2002, but as a common political organization.[22] A delegation led by the presidents of the Belgian and Dutch national football associations met FIFA president Sepp Blatter on November 14, 2007, officially announcing their interest in submitting a joint bid.[23] On March 19 2008 the delegation also met with UEFA President Michel Platini to convince him it is a serious offer under one management. Afterwards they claimed to have impressed Platini, who supports the idea of getting the world cup to Europe.[24] Luxembourg would not host any matches or automatically qualify for the finals in a successful Benelux bid, but would host a FIFA congress.[25]

On June 5 2008, Belgian prime minister Yves Leterme had several meetings concerning the 2018 World Cup bid by Belgium and the Netherlands. One of those meetings was with a delegation from both FIFA and UEFA with amongst those delegations Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini. In this meeting the only real conclusion was that not one country had at that moment submitted an official bid. Other meetings of the prime minister were with project leader Alain Courtois, who claims that "after Africa and South-America it is not unlikely that the World Cup will return to Europe, which means the chances of the Belgium-Netherlands bid succeeding have gone up", with the mayor of the city of Brussels Freddy Thielemans and with SNCB leader Jannie Haek. Leterme met with Thielemans and Haek to discuss plans for a new 60.000-seater stadium in Brussels, for which there are three possibilities, the first one would be to renovate and expand the current King Baudouin Stadium, the second would be to build a new stadium on the Heysel and the third would be to build one on the property of the SNCB in the municipality of Schaerbeek. As a whole, Leterme stated that Belgium should get 4 stadiums with a capacity of 40.000 together with the new 60.000-seater stadium in Brussels.[26]

England

England facing Estonia at Wembley Stadium in London.

England's World Cup proposal has been mooted as early as May 2004, when David Will, a vice-president of FIFA, told the Press Association

I would think England would have a very strong bid. The English bid for 2006 was much stronger than appeared from the pattern of voting but so much has changed since then anyway. Since they bid for 2006 the FA have started an enormous international assistance programme. They suddenly realized after the 2006 bid that the FA had become a little bit unknown in some parts of the world and have started this huge programme - that's bound to help.[27]

In November 2005, Adrian Bevington, the Football Association's Director of Communications, announced:

A bid to bring the World Cup Finals back to England in 2018 will be given serious consideration, but it will be at least next autumn before we would put any definite proposals in place. It's fantastic news that the Government, through the Treasury, have announced their support for any future bid but, in terms of the precise nature of any such bid, that will not be decided on for another year or so."[28]

Current Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and Sport Minister, Tessa Jowell, announced they were to take the first step towards bidding to host the event on 18 November 2005.[29] Brown reiterated his support for a bid in March 2006, before England's 2006 World Cup campaign,[30] and again in May 2006.[31] The UK government launched its official report on 12 February 2007, where it was made clear that their support was for an England-only bid and that all games would be played at English grounds.[32] Richard Caborn will lead England's bid to stage the 2018 World Cup after stepping down as Sports Minister.[33] Franz Beckenbauer, who led Germany's successful bid for the 2006 World Cup and a member of FIFA's Executive Committee, has twice backed an English bid to host the World Cup, in January 2007,[34] and July 2007, when he said "In my opinion, there is only one very serious candidate and it is England. I think there is not really a problem to pick a host of the 2018 World Cup."[35] FIFA President Sepp Blatter has said he would welcome a 2018 bid from "the homeland of football";[36] he met Gordon Brown on 24 October 2007 to discuss the bid while paying a visit to England.[37] On 31 October2007, the FA officially announced that it will bid to host the event.[38][39]

England has previously hosted the 1966 World Cup and Euro '96, as well as failing to win the bid for the 2006 World Cup. Should England succeed, it would be the sixth nation to host the World Cup for a second time. If the World Cup were to be held in England, it would form part of a 'Golden Decade' in British Sport, after London secured the 2012 Summer Olympics and Glasgow secured the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It was reported on April 24, 2008 that England has finalized a 63 page bid to host the 2018 World Cup, focusing on the development of football worldwide.[40]

On October 24, 2008 the Football Association confirmed who will be the members of the Executive Board in preparation for a bid to stage the 2018 World Cup. [41] FA Chairman Lord Triesman will chair England 2018 supported by two Deputy Chairmen; Lord Mawhinney, chairman of the Football League and David Gill, Chief Executive of Manchester United. The government will be represented by the Minister for Sport, Gerry Sutcliffe. The Minister for Sport will remain the government’s representative throughout the bidding process. Also, there would be a Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer on the board which are yet to be appointed. In the interim, Former FA Director of Corporate Affairs Simon Johnson is Acting Chief Operating Officer.

There will also be three non-Executive Directors on the Bid team. Sir Keith Mills, is Deputy Chairman of LOCOG and was International President and CEO of the successful 2012 Olympic bid, and is one of three Non Executive Directors along with Baroness Amos, who has served as CEO of the Equal Opportunities Commission, Leader of the House of Lords and Secretary of State for International Development and Sir Martin Sorrell who is CEO of WPP, the world's largest advertising and marketing services group.

North America

Qwest Field is an American Football stadium built to also be used for football (soccer)

Mexico's former FEMEXFUT President, Alberto de la Torre, announced their intention to bid for the cup in 2005.[10]. Although they originally planned to bid for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the bid was changed due to Brazil's successful bid..[10] If chosen, it would become the first country to host the World Cup for a third time. Currently Mexico is working on thirteen new stadiums, such as Monterrey Soccer Arena, New Chivas de Guadalajara Stadium, New Stadium of Santos Laguna, New Stadium of Cruz Azul.

The USSF said in February 2007 that it would put forth a bid for the 2018 World Cup.[42] The United States previously hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup, almost every CONCACAF Gold Cup, and the 1999 and 2003 FIFA Women's World Cups. The vice president of FIFA, Jack Warner, who is also the president of CONCACAF, originally said he would try to bring the World Cup back to the CONCACAF region.[43] However, Warner also stated that he would prefer if the USSF changed their plans to make a bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[44]

Spain and Portugal

Camp Nou in Barcelona is the largest stadium in Europe

The President of the Portuguese Football Federation, Gilberto Madail, proposed a joint bid with Spain, and the proposition was supported by the presidents of the Professional Clubs of Spain.[45][46] The bid was confirmed by FIFA president Sepp Blatter on February 18, 2008.[47] Furthermore, the president of the Spanish Football Federation announced on July 16, 2008 that indeed it was the intention of the Federation to run a bid for the World Cup for Spain and that positive contacts had already taken place with the government through the Secretary of Sports, Jaime Lissavetzky. However, no specifications were made regarding a joint bid with Portugal. [48]

Eight of the accredited 5-star UEFA Stadiums are located in Portugal and Spain, which is the most of any current European-based bid. The three South American members of FIFA's 24-man executive committee, who will decide on the hosts in 2011, have said that the Latin Europe bid can count on support from them.[49] This may possibly be due to the favourable language and cultural ties between Latin America with Portugal and Spain. Spain has previously hosted the World Cup in 1982, while Portugal have yet to be a host but have hosted Euro 2004. So if Spain succeed with Portugal, it would be the sixth nation to host the World Cup for a second time.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Joint decision on 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups", FIFA (2008-05-30). Retrieved on 2008-05-30. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hall, Matthew (18 September, 2005). "Australia can host World Cup". Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  3. ↑ "FA yet to make 2018 bid decision", BBC Sport (November 15, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-10-28. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "England to fight Russia, Oz for 2018 World Cup?", ESPN (October 12, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-29. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Benelux trio to apply to host 2018 World Cup", ESPN (2006-10-16). Retrieved on 2006-10-18. 
  6. ↑ "Spain and Portugal, united to World Cup 2018", Diario Marca (February 17, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  7. ↑ "Blatter knocks England 2018 hopes", BBC News (February 28, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-31. 
  8. ↑ "Blatter discusses 2018 World Cup bid", Canadian Press, TSN (February 28, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-28. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Australia eyes off 2018 Cup bid", ABC/Reuters (October 30, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-30. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "México sí buscará el Mundial, pero en el 2018" (in Spanish), El Universal (2005-02-17). Retrieved on 2007-10-23. 
  11. ↑ Wade, Stephen (2007-09-30), U.S remains firm in 2018 World Cup bid plans; China also considering a bid, USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2007-09-30-4130214363_x.htm, retrieved on 2008-08-25 
  12. ↑ "Fifa abandons World Cup rotation", BBC News (October 29, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-29. 
  13. ↑ "Portugal and Spain to Launch Rival 2018 Bid", The Daily Telegraph (November 27, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-27. 
  14. ↑ "New rotation proposal", BBC Sport (September 25, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-22. 
  15. ↑ Mackay, Duncan (June 08, 2008). "Qatar enters with shocking bid for 2018", The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-06-08. 
  16. ↑ "Sports Agenda - Russia's early lead in the 2018 battle", Daily Mail (October 17, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-29. 
  17. ↑ "Socceroos' stars coming home for two matches", Sydney Morning Herald (September 21, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-28. 
  18. ↑ "Melbourne keen to kick a goal", Fox Sports Australia. 
  19. ↑ "PM makes the perfect pitch for World Cup", Sydney Morning Herald (February 28, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-28. 
  20. ↑ "Lowy's vision for soccer", The Daily Telegraph (2008-02-23). Retrieved on 2008-03-02. 
  21. ↑ "FFA to press on with 2018 Cup bid: Lowy", ABC News (June 21, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-06-21. 
  22. ↑ "Benelux countries launch 2018 World Cup bid", ESPN (June 27, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-29. 
  23. ↑ "Associations of Belgium and the Netherlands officially announce interest in submitting joint bid" (November 14, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
  24. ↑ "Ons dossier maakte indruk bij Platini" (March 19, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  25. ↑ "Benelux countries want World Cup" (November 14, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
  26. ↑ "Leterme zet zich in voor WK-kandidatuur België" (in dutch) (June 5, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  27. ↑ "FIFA gives England hope". BBC News (23 May 2004). Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
  28. ↑ "World Cup bid latest". The FA.com (November 15, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
  29. ↑ "Government launches work on 2018 bid". HM Treasury (18 November 2005). Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
  30. ↑ Mark Whittle (21 March 2006). "Heroes of '66 reunited". The FA. Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
  31. ↑ "The World Cup and Economics 2006" (PDF). Goldman Sachs (3 May 2006). Retrieved on 2007-10-29.
  32. ↑ "Chancellor's World Cup fever fails to grip the Scots", The Scotsman (2007-02-13). Retrieved on 2007-10-28. 
  33. ↑ "Caborn to spearhead World Cup bid", BBC Sport (June 28, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-28. 
  34. ↑ "Beckenbauer will back England bid", BBC Sport (January 28, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-28. 
  35. ↑ "England gets Beckenbauer backing", BBC Sport (July 29, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-28. 
  36. ↑ "Blatter Welcomes England Cup Bid", BBC Sport (September 2, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-10-30. 
  37. ↑ "World Cup bid on Brown's agenda", icWales (October 23, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-28. 
  38. ↑ BBC Sport: England to bid for 2018 World Cup
  39. ↑ "FA confirms 2018 World Cup Bid". The Times (2007-10-31). Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
  40. ↑ "England plans its 2018 World Cup bid", Associated Press, Yahoo! (April 24, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-29. 
  41. ↑ "Board confirmed for 2018", The Football Association (October 24, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-10-24. 
  42. ↑ Goff, Steven (2007-02-20). "U.S. to Seek World Cup", Washington Post. Retrieved on 2007-10-28. 
  43. ↑ "Caborn hits back at Warner attack", BBC Sport (2007-08-10). Retrieved on 2007-10-28. 
  44. ↑ "Warner wants U.S. to bid for 2022 World Cup", Fox Sports. Retrieved on 2008-06-04. 
  45. ↑ "Iberian threat to England's 2018 World Cup bid", ESPN (November 27, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-27. 
  46. ↑ Bond, David (November 27, 2007). "Portugal and Spain to launch rival 2018 bid", The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2008-06-21. 
  47. ↑ "España y Portugal se unen para pedir el Mundial de 2018", Marca (February 18, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  48. ↑ "Villar confirma contactos con Lissavetzky para organizar el Mundial 2018", El País (July 16, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-07-16. 
  49. ↑ "Spain and Portugal eye World Cup bid", Yahoo! Eurosport UK (November 27, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-06-21. 

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