2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids

Template:Future sport The 2018 Football World Cup will be the 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup. Bidding to host the 2018 World Cup will close in 2010. Despite expectations to the contrary, FIFA will not necessarily continue with their policy of rotating the right to host the World Cup amongst the different confederations. This policy would have seen the 2018 World Cup being held in either North America (CONCACAF) or Oceania (OFC). However, in an interview with The Sun-Herald the head of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, said:

"The World Cup is a very serious matter. There will be good contenders for 2018. The rotation system only goes until 2014. The rotation was a political decision to ensure the World Cup went to Africa, otherwise Africa would never have it."

The World Cup in 2018 could return to Asia, which has hosted the tournament once before (South Korea and Japan in 2002), or Europe (Germany hosted in 2006). If in Europe, England claims to host if a candidate. Also, despite having few countries capable of hosting the tournament, some believe CONCACAF has a strong case (last hosted by the USA in 1994). Leaders of the Mexican Football Federation have announced that they will likely bid for 2018. A bid from the Oceania Football Confederation, which has never hosted the World Cup, is also a remote possibility. With Australia leaving the confederation, New Zealand is the only OFC nation which has stadia of the required capacity, albeit very limited. The tournament is unlikely to return to either Africa or South America, which are scheduled for 2010 and 2014 respectively.

Countries that have announced their interest include Australia, England, Mexico, the Netherlands and Belgium (joint bid) and Spain. A bid from Canada is also possible. A bid from China is also likely, though the Chinese are currently focusing their attention on the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Turkey is also planning to make a bid.

Australia

There was much media speculation in late 2005 that Australia and New Zealand would launch a joint bid for the 2018 World Cup following New Zealand's successful bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup. With Australia completing a move from the Oceania Football Confederation to the Asian Football Confederation in 2006 this joint bid seems very unlikely to happen. AFC president Mohamed bin Hammam recently said:

"Naturally, Australia is part of Asia and it would be my dream to see 2018 hosted in Asia"

FIFA have stated recently that joint hosting will not be permitted in the future.

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. While Australia has nine modern stadia suitable for the World Cup already built, no official statement has been made about the possible location of the last venue. The Victorian sports minister was quoted as saying "If FIFA is serious about growing the game in the Asia-Pacific region, then the time can't be too far away where they need to move into the region", and "Where else would they put it but Australia?" Football Australia have remained silent on the issue so far.

After Australia's draw against Croatia (which qualified Australia for the second round of the 2006 World Cup, facing eventual champions Italy), both NSW & South Australian premiers Morris Iemma and Mike Rann have expressed their interest in putting a bid forward for the finals in 2018 and will be putting the proposal forward at the next meeting of the Council of Australian Governments. Victoria premier Steve Bracks spoke up as well and reaffirmed what his sports minister said in 2005, saying he supported the submission and any bid for the event should be a national effort. The Victorian premier made it clear the finals should be hosted by his state - "If there was a World Cup to be held here we would play a significant part because of our major events capacity," he told reporters in Melbourne.

At the July 14 2006 Council of Australian Governments meeting between federal, state and territory leaders, it was decided that all state governments and the federal government would strongly support a bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Australia has hosted the OFC Nations Cup twice (1998, and 2004), and four-way co-hosted once (1996); Australia is now a member of the AFC however. Australia has also enjoyed success hosting other major sporting events recently, with the 2000 Summer Olympics held in Sydney, the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne.

Potential Australian stadia
Rank	Stadium	City	Shape	Capacity	Notes
1	Melbourne Cricket Ground	Melbourne	Oval	100,000	Built
2	Telstra Stadium	Sydney	Convertible	83,500	Built but expandable to 90,000
3	StadiumWA	Perth	Convertible	70,000	Proposed
4	Telstra Dome	Melbourne	Convertible	56,000	Built
5	Suncorp Stadium	Brisbane	Rectangular	52,500	Built
6	AAMI Stadium	Adelaide	Oval	51,500	Built
7	ANZ Stadium	Brisbane	Rectangular	51,400	Built,but major renovations required for WC standard
8	Sydney Cricket Ground	Sydney	Oval	44,000	Built,planned expansion to 47,000
9	Subiaco Oval	Perth	Oval	43,500	Built
10	The Gabba	Brisbane	Oval	42,200	Built
11	Aussie Stadium	Sydney	Rectangular	41,150	Built, currently being expanded to 45,500
12	Energy Australia Stadium	Newcastle	Rectangular	28,000	Built ,but expansion to 40,000 required
13	Canberra Stadium	Canberra	Rectangular	25,000	Built,but expansion to 40,000 required

Of the 10 large stadia required to host the tournament, Australia has 9 already: the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Telstra Stadium, Telstra Dome, Suncorp Stadium, AAMI Stadium, Sydney Cricket Ground, Brisbane Cricket Ground, Aussie Stadium and Subiaco Oval; however, 7 of these stadia are in 3 cities, breaking FIFA's rule of only one city can host 2 stadia. If Australia were to have a successful bid the rule would need to change, or Australia would need to increase the capacity of venues like York Park in Launceston (currently 23,000 all-seater), Canberra Stadium (currently 25,000 all-seater), EnergyAustralia Stadium in Newcastle, New South Wales (currently 28,000), Skilled Stadium in Geelong (currently 28,300 all-seater), or the proposed Gold Coast Stadium which was initially intended to be a 25,000 seat venue. Despite the larger proportion of smaller capacity venues, the MCG and Telstra Stadium are both exceptionally high capacity in comparison to other FIFA World Cup stadia, each having seen crowds in excess of 100,000.

The Sydney Cricket Ground is also a possible stadium; however, it is on oval stadium which is adjacent to Aussie Stadium, a rectangular stadium, which is currently being expanded to 45,500.

Perth is in the process of planning future sporting infrastructure which could mean a $250 million redevelopment of the existing Subiaco Oval, lifting capacity to 60,000; or the city will build the more popular option of a 70,000 seat $500 million multipurpose stadium with movable seating of the like which is used at Stade de France. City of Cockburn proposed the StadiumWA which will cater for all the codes and concerts needs.

Adelaide would more than likely have to provide a new stadium for any possible World Cup as the current AAMI stadium is very dated (built in the early 70's) and has limited development options because of poor soil integerety.

The regional cities of Newcastle, the Gold Coast, Townsville and Canberra all have rectangular stadiums seating over 25,000. By 2018 one could hope that they would be cabable providing 40,000 stadiums by either temporary seating, permenent additions or complete new stadiums.

Newcastle's Energy Australia Stadium, in fact, is designed so that if the new grandstand (built 2005) were continued around the whole ground, it would have a capacity of 40,000 - only financial problems have prevented this so far. Similarly, Townsville's Dairy Farmers stadium could also hold 40,000 if its new stand continued around the ground. Tasmania's biggest stadium, Aurora Stadium in Launceston, hosted a match during the 2003 Rugby World Cup, however with a capacity of 23,000 it would take considerable upgrades to bring it to FIFA World Cup standard.

Canada

Potential Canadian stadia
Rank	Stadium	City	Capacity	Notes
1	Olympic Stadium	Montreal	65,255
2	Commonwealth Stadium	Edmonton	60,217
3	BC Place Stadium	Vancouver	59,841
4	Rogers Centre	Toronto	53,000
Stadia which could be upgraded:
5	McMahon Stadium	Calgary	37,317
6	Percival Molson Stadium	Montreal	35,000	Capacity after renovations.
7	Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium	Vancouver	30,000	Planned. Capacity after potential expansion.
8	Canad Inns Stadium	Winnipeg	29,503
9	Ivor Wynne Stadium	Hamilton	29,183
10	Frank Clair Stadium	Ottawa	28,826
11	Mosaic Stadium	Regina	27,332
12	National Soccer Stadium	Toronto	27,000	Opening 2007. Capacity with temporary seating.

Canada has mounted a bid for the 2018 World Cup using stadia in Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Hamilton, as well as five newly built stadia in other cities. Canada will host the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which could serve as a gauge for a World Cup in Canada. Due to the continental rotation system that FIFA has used of late to award the event, it is quite possible that a CONCACAF nation could host the 2018 event. Enthusiasm in Canada was high for international football during the 2006 World Cup. Canada has the infrastructure, accommodations, transportation, security and most likely excellent public support for the event. The only drawback is that Canada does not have a competent development system and has not qualified for the World Cup since 1986. However, with a serious bid and support from corporations, especially the government, Canada may be able to field a very competitive national team by 2018, illustrated by a recent 2-1 victory by the U-20 team over Brazil. Another positive sign is the inception of Toronto FC, Canada's first Major League Soccer team, in 2007. Canada is also a largely multicultural society, and while it may generally be seen as a 'hockey' nation, many inhabitants come from a background with strong football traditions. Another possible stadium could be Halifax, Nova Scotia if the city wins its bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

China

Sepp Blatter has also tipped China as a potential candidate after the successful Asian Cup held in China in 2004, although anti-Japanese riots which occurred following China's loss to Japan in the final could count against them. China will be hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2010 Asian Games so they would have more experience in hosting major sporting events then. China had previously hosted the 1991 Women's World Cup and will be hosting the event again in 2007.

Blatter believed that "[he has] confidence in Chinese football," while FIFA officials had suggested that China's growth as an economic super power makes the country a firm favourite to stage the next World Cup in Asia.

England

Potential English stadia
Rank	Stadium	City	Capacity	Notes
	Wembley Stadium	London	90,000	Opening 2007
	London Olympic Stadium	London	80,000	Opening 2012
1	Twickenham Stadium	London	75,000	Expanding to 82,000 by 2007. RFU permitting
2	Old Trafford	Manchester	73,006	Expanding to 76,000 in 2006
3	Emirates Stadium	London	60,000
	Stanley Park Stadium	Liverpool	60,000	Will be occupied by Liverpool FC
	New Everton Stadium	Liverpool	55,000	Will be occupied by Everton FC
4	St James' Park	Newcastle	52,387
	City of Birmingham Stadium	Birmingham	50,000	Will be occupied by Birmingham FC
5	Stadium of Light	Sunderland	49,000	Planned expansion to 55,000 on hold Can be fully expanded to 72,000.
6	City of Manchester Stadium	Manchester	48,000
7	Anfield	Liverpool	45,362	Move to Stanley Park Stadium announced
8	Villa Park	Birmingham	42,573	To be expanded to 51,000
9	Stamford Bridge	London	42,449
10	Riverside Stadium	Middlesbrough	42,000	Can be expanded from 35,100
11	Goodison Park	Liverpool	40,569	Move to New Everton Stadium planned in future
12	Elland Road	Leeds	40,296

England has also announced interest in hosting the event, after London's successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Chancellor Gordon Brown and Sport Minister (DCMS), Tessa Jowell, announced they were to take the first step towards bidding to host the 2018 World Cup on 18 November 2005. A few days earlier the FA's Director of Communications, Adrian Bevington, 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 won't be decided on for another year or so."

England hosted the 1966 World Cup, and has hosted the European Championship once (1996). England would be the fifth or sixth nation (depending on the host for 2014) to organise two World Cups. Sepp Blatter has said he would welcome a 2018 bid from "the homeland of football".

Other countries in the United Kingdom are said to be interested in hosting matches if England win the bid, David Williams, Chief Executive of EventScotland, said in a Scottish Affairs Committee meeting in November 2005 that:

"Hopefully if we did get World Cup football here it would be played around the UK. We have got some great national stadia. The other issue is on the voting side. Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland would all have votes, which you would assume that England would want. There may be some deal that can be done to ensure that games are played in Scotland."

However, this may not be possible as FIFA have already announced that joint bids will not be allowed.

Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium, opening 2006

Excitement at the possibility of England hosting the World Cup again has grown during the build up to 2006 FIFA World Cup. In March 2006 Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK commented:

"I hope the memory of 1966 will inspire the current England squad in Germany this summer and I hope it inspires the whole country to get behind a bid to bring the World Cup back to England in 2018."

David Will vice-president of FIFA told the Press Association in April 2006:

"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 realised 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."

File:Manchester staduim.jpg

City of Manchester Stadium, opened 2002

In May 2006 Gordon Brown again commented:

"I believe that intense excitement will grow in this country if England is able to mount a bid for World Cup 2018. To follow the London Olympics in 2012 with the World Cup six years later would be a magnificent achievement for our country. It would emphasise just how much of a sporting nation we are. And I am determined to play whatever part I can in making it possible. Wherever I go in the world over the next few years, I will be on a mission to persuade other countries that it is time for the World Cup to come here in 2018. We supported Nelson Mandela in taking the World Cup to Africa in 2010, and on my recent visits to Mozambique and other African countries, I asked them to back our bid. In future years, we will support our friends abroad in taking the tournament to Australasia, and back to Asia and the Americas. But in 2018, it will have been more than 50 years since this country - which gave football to the world - has had the chance to host the world’s greatest tournament. So we will ask others to support us in bringing football back home."

England certainly has plenty of venues capable of staging World Cup football. At present there are two UEFA 5-star stadia and four UEFA 4-star stadia in England, although these figures are likely to grow in the coming years. In addition to the New Wembley Stadium there are currently nine club grounds that are large enough to hold FIFA World Cup games: Manchester (Old Trafford, 76,000 and City of Manchester Stadium, 48,000), Newcastle (St James' Park, 52,316), Sunderland (Stadium of Light, 49,000), Liverpool (Anfield, 45,362 and Goodison Park, 40,569), Birmingham (Villa Park, 42,573), London (Stamford Bridge, 42,449) and Leeds (Elland Road, 40,204). Twickenham could also be used as a stadium with its 75,000 capacity (expanding to 82,000), although so far the Rugby Football Union have been reluctant to allow Association Football to be played there.

There are also several large club stadia in development that are likely to be open by 2018: Liverpool will at some point be moving from Anfield to the 60,000 capacity New Anfield, Everton are hoping to move into a new 55,000 seater stadium in the future, Arsenal are moving to the 60,000 capacity Emirates Stadium in London in 2006 and by 2018 Birmingham City will be playing at the 50,000-seater City of Birmingham Stadium. All of these are likely to be classed as UEFA 4-star venues as a minimum. Upton Park, West Ham United's stadium, will also have a capacity of over 40,000 well before then. The Valley, home to Charlton Athletic, is also to be expanded to a 40,600 all-seater stadium.

In addition to these stadia there are also a further twelve stadia with a capacity of over 30,000 which could potentially be expanded to over 40,000 seats. Two of these stadia (Hillsborough, Sheffield and City Ground, Nottingham) were used in the highly successful Template:Ec2, and some of them have hosted England matches: (St Mary's in Southampton (32,500), Pride Park in Derby (34,000), and Walkers Stadium in Leicester (32,500). It is also possible that the London Olympic Stadium would host some matches if it is used after the 2012 Olympic Games as a football stadium. With further stadium building and expansion probable, it is likely that England will have some of the biggest and best football stadia in the world by 2018. Since organisers would only need to select around twelve stadia for use at the tournament it is even possible that most of these could be UEFA 5-star venues.

Mexico

Potential Mexican stadia
Stadium	Capacity	Club(s)
Estadio Azteca	105,000	Mexico, Club América, and CF Atlante
Estadio Jalisco	72,000	Chivas and Atlas
Estadio Olímpico Universitario	70,000	Pumas
Estadio Universitario	50,000	Tigres
Estadio Cuauhtémoc	42,800	Puebla
Estadio Morelos	42,500	Morelia
Estadio Luis Pirata Fuente	40,000	Veracruz
Estadio La Corregidora	40,000	Querétaro FC

Mexico has shown interest in hosting the tournament, as told by the president of the FMF (Mexican Football Federation), Alberto de la Torre, "We want to make clear that right now there is no work with FIFA to bring the World Cup, but when FIFA looks at the CONCACAF area we don't want to say 'We want the World Cup', we want to say, 'We are ready.'"

Mexico hosted the 1970 World Cup and 1986 World Cup, has co-hosted the Gold Cup twice (1993, and 2003), and has hosted the Confederations Cup once (1999).

Mexico, due to many of the situations (political and economic) it is going through, does not have the right infrastructure to host a FIFA World Cup. Despite having several stadia all around the country (including three in Mexico City), most of them do not have an appropiate quality, although many of these stadia have hosted games in the two previous FIFA World Cups held in Mexico. Still, there are a few stadia under construction, including a new stadium for Chivas de Guadalajara which is scheduled to have global quality standards. If Mexico were to host the competition again it would become the first nation to host the finals three times.

Netherlands and Belgium

The Netherlands and Belgium have hosted Template:Ec2 - very successfully notwithstanding some hooliganism. Unlike the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, there will be no transportation problems because there is an open border between the two countries, and no body of water separating them. In addition, both countries use a single currency - the Euro, and that the primarly language of the Netherlands, Dutch, is also the first language of the most populous part of Belgium, Flanders.

However, FIFA have stated recently that joint hosting will not be permitted in the future so it is unlikely that this bid will come to fruition. Even so there were several signals in early 2006 that the Belgian and Dutch Football Organisations are seriously considering a joint bid to host the 2018 World Cup. There are also some signals of political support for a bid (mostly in Belgium).

One problem that would need to be solved is the capacity of the stadia. For a European Championship every stadium needs a minimal capacity of 30,000 seats, but for a World Cup every stadium needs at least 40,000 seats. This is currently a problem for Belgium and the Netherlands, because they only have three stadia between them with the required capacity; Amsterdam (Amsterdam ArenA, 52,000), Rotterdam (Feijenoord Stadion, 51,177) and Brussels (King Baudouin Stadium, 50,000). In addition to these stadia there are also four stadia in the Netherlands and four in Belgium with significant capacity; Eindhoven (Philips Stadion, 36,500), Arnhem (Gelredome, 29,600), Heerenveen (Abe Lenstra Stadion, 27,500), Utrecht (Stadion Galgenwaard, almost 25,000), Brugge (Jan Breydel Stadion, 30,000), Charleroi (Stade du Pays de Charleroi, 22,000), Liège (Stade Maurice Dufrasne, 29,173), Brussels (Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, 28,361). A fifth stadium in the Netherlands, DSB Stadion in Alkmaar, will open in 2006 with a capacity of 17,000, but is planned to be expanded to 30,000 by 2008. There is also the newly built Euroborg stadium in Groningen with 20,000 seats, which is also the subject of expansion plans. Some of these stadia would have to be increased in capacity in order for the bid to be successful. There are also some rumours that Anderlecht of Belgium and Feyenoord of the Netherlands are planning to build new stadia if the two countries will host the FIFA 2018 World Championship.

The biggest advantage of a joint bid of the Netherlands and Belgium is the high rated infrastructure in both the countries, with a lot of highways and some high-capacity airports. Another big advantage is the experience and knowledge of organising a big tournament together. The Netherlands and Belgium has co-hosted the Euro Cup once together (2000), and Belgium hosted solo once (1972).

In July 2006, there are some indications of planning a bid by the two Football Organisations. Former tournament director of Euro 2000 Alain Courtios, said that there surely have to be a joint bid of The Netherlands and Belgium. In his opinion the countries have everything what the Germans have, except enough stadiums. In an interview on 6 July 2006, the president of the Dutch Footbal Organisation Jeu Sprengers (also secretary of UEFA) said that the Dutch Football organisation is positive about a joint bid. The Dutch Football Organisation has also made some agreements with the Dutch government about talks about a possible bid in late 2006.

New Zealand

Potential New Zealand stadia After expected upgrades for the 2011 Rugby World Cup
City	Stadium	Capacity
Auckland	Eden Park	60,000
Christchurch	Jade Stadium	55,000
Stadia which could be upgraded:
Wellington	Westpac Stadium	35,000
Dunedin	Carisbrook	35,000
Hamilton	Waikato Stadium	30,000
Rotorua	Rotorua International Stadium	35,000
Auckland	Mt Smart Stadium	30,000
Albany	North Harbour Stadium	25,000
New Plymouth	Yarrow Stadium	25,000
Tauranga	BlueChip Stadium	20,000

New Zealand could bid using the existing stadia from the 2011 Rugby World Cup as Auckland's Eden Park is expected to be upgraded to host the final of the Rugby World Cup. If New Zealand were to bid, they do have some favourability in their support:

• Successful hosting of the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand rugby union tour which saw around 30,000 fans from the British Isles tour the country.
• Successful bid of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, which is the third largest sporting event globally, after the Summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup.
• Successful bid with Australia to host the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
• The World Cup would be held in the Oceania Football Confederation for the first time.
• Hosting the much smaller 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship.

Against New Zealand is their lack of stadia capacity (10 all-seater stadia of 40,000 are required to host FIFA World Cup Matches), as well as football's lack of popularity compared to rugby union. Currently, only two stadia in New Zealand have over 40,000 capacity, but have several more, such as North Harbour Stadium and Westpac Stadiums which are around the 30,000 mark. The lack of success for the national side, the All Whites, may also go against a possible bid.

New Zealand has hosted OFC Nations Cup twice (1973, and 2002), and four-way co-hosted once (1996). A bid for the World Cup seems unlikely, however.

Saudi Arabia

File:Ml3b elmalik fahad.jpg

King Fahd II Stadium in Riyadh

Saudi Arabia has shown interest in holding the tournament, though there are no details whether the bid has emerged yet. The World Cup has never before been held in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia gave birth to the Confederations Cup, originally named the King Fahd Cup, and hosted the first three tournaments (1992, 1995, and 1997).

Whilst Saudi Arabia could likely provide the stadiums and finance to host the World Cup, it is highly unlikely any bid would succeed due to cultural restrictions.

Spain

Spain has also shown interest in staging the tournament, although no details have yet emerged regarding this bid. If it did decide to proceed, England would likely be its main competitor in Europe.

Spain hosted the 1982 World Cup, and has hosted the European Championship once (1964).

Spain's chances of succeeding in its bid are certainly increased by the wealth of stadia it has on offer. Among them are the Nou Camp in Barcelona (98,000), Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid (80,000) and Estadio Olimpico in Sevilla (72,000).

External links

• England 2018 World Cup Bid
• BBC: Chancellor Gordon Brown announces plan to bid for 2018 World Cup
• Yahoo!: England to study possible World Cup bid
• BBC: FA considers 2018 World Cup bid
• BBC: Blatter welcomes England cup bid
• Sportal: Australia eyes 2018 World Cup
• Universal Mexico: Mexico will try for the world cup, but in 2018 (Spanish)
• Blatter backs China as World Cup host
• Flanders.news: World Cup: "A realistic dream"
• Eurosport: Netherlands and Belgium investigate World Cup 2018 bid