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The dust has barely settled on the World Cup in South Africa but already attention has
turned to which countries will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The decision for
both tournaments will be announced by Fifa on 2 December. Here we give our verdict
on the front runners as the race to land the greatest prize in sport heats up.
Who will win the race to host the
2018 and 2022 World Cups?
2018 Contenders: Belgium and Netherlands (joint bid), England, Russia, Spain and
Portugal (joint bid) and USA.
2022 Contenders: As above plus Australia, Japan, South Korea and Qatar
The minimum requirements are:
12 stadiums with minimum capacities of 80,000 for the opening match and final and others capable of holding a minimum of 40,000
and satisfactory infrastructure and facilities including high standards of TV broadcasting, telecommunications technology, transport and
accommodation.
Belgium and Netherlands
Fifa World Ranking:
Belgium
- 48,
Netherlands
- 2
Main
Stadium:
Belgium
- King Baudouin Stadium,
50,000 approx (Brussels)
//
Netherlands
- Feyenoord
Stadium (de Kuip), 51,000
approx (Rotterdam)
Last World Cup hosted:
n/a
Chance of winning:
Low for both
tournaments – small venues and joint
bid.
A joint bid has been made by Belgium and
the Netherlands to host a World Cup for
the first time. These countries successfully
teamed up to host Euro 2000. However,
Fifa President Sepp Blatter has stated “As
long as we have single-country bids which
provide all the necessary guarantees, we
will reject co-hosting bids.”
That seems to count out the bid as there
are other countries who can host the
tournament in their own right. Also, as
far as stadiums go, they do not meet
the criteria. The King Baudouin Stadium
(formerly known as Heysel) in north
Brussels was used for the opening game
of Euro 2000 but has a capacity of just
over 50,000. The Feyenoord Stadium,
which hosted the Euro 2000 final, also
comes up short at 51,577.
England
Fifa World Ranking:
7
Main Stadium:
Wembley, 90,000
(London - pictured page 13)
Last World Cup hosted:
1966
Chance of winning:
Has all the
requirements therefore Joint favourities
for 2018 with Russia but unless USA win
2018, no chance for 2022.
Originally installed as favourites, the bid
has not gone as smoothly as hoped. In
May the campaign suffered a major blow
when bid team head Lord Triesman quit
following claims that he had accused
Spain and Russia of bribery. However,
things appear to be back on track when
Franz Beckenbauer, the former German
captain and member of the Fifa committee
bolstered England’s bid by saying that the
country could stage the event ‘tomorrow’
because of its superior infrastructure of
stadia and fans.
Then Fifa President Sepp Blatter gave
England’s 2018 World Cup bid a huge
boost, declaring that it would be ‘easy’ to
host the tournament in the country.
He said: ‘The easiest way to organise the
World Cup is to go to England. Everything
is there – fans, stadiums, infrastructure
– it’s easy.’
It will be 52 years since Bobby Moore lifted
the Jules Rimet trophy at Wembley by
the time 2018 comes around, but it looks
quite likely that the then England captain
will get his chance to lead the team out on
home turf to equal that feat.
Analysis of 2018 and 2022 bidders:
2018
2022