Thursday at Wembley saw the 15 cities across England plead their cases as the list soon becomes lessened to 10 to formalise our bid to become the hosts of the 2018 (or 2022) FIFA World Cup. The decision as to which venues have made the cut will be made on the 16th December, in preparation for FIFA’s host nations announcement at a similar time next year.
Each city will probably only be allowed one stadium (with current FIFA rules), and one city getting two as an exception (probably London). Representatives such as Paul Gasgoine, Niall Quinn, and Paul Ince were all present yesterday to help support their respective local bids.
Cities bidding for 2018 World Cup Hosting Duties (possible stadiums in brackets):
London (Wembley, Emirates, Olympic Stadium, New Tottenham Stadium, Twickenham)
Birmingham (Villa Park, New Birmingham Stadium)
Manchester (Old Trafford, City of Manchester Stadium)
Liverpool (Anfield, New Anfield, New Everton Stadium)
Newcastle (St. James’ Park)
Sheffield (Hillsborough, Bramall Lane, Don Valley Stadium (all need to be expanded))
Sunderland (Stadium of Light)
Leeds (Elland Road (expanded))
Leicester (Walkers Stadium (expanded))
Derby (Pride Park (expanded))
Nottingham (New Nottingham Forest Stadium)
Milton Keynes (stadium:mk (expanded))
Plymouth (Home Park (expanded))
Bristol (New Bristol City Stadium)
Hull (KC Stadium (expanded))
Portsmouth withdrew on Wednesday, citing financial difficulties.
If England were to fail in their bid, they would be given the opportunity to go for the 2022 event, provided that 2018 is not in Europe. The double bid opportunity has made competition to win the hosting rights intense, and England throw their hat in with up to 9 other bidders…
Bidding nations for 2018 and 2022 World Cups:
AUSTRALIA
BELGIUM and HOLLAND
ENGLAND
INDONESIA
JAPAN
PORTUGAL and SPAIN
RUSSIA
USA
QATAR (2022 only)
SOUTH KOREA (2022 only)
Withdrawn Bids:
MEXICO (lack of funding)
an EGYPT bid never materialised, despite reported interest.
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