2018 FIFA World Cup
Encyclopedia
The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups was the process by which the locations for the 2018
and 2022
FIFA World Cup
s were selected. The process began officially in March 2009; eleven bids from thirteen countries were received, including one which was withdrawn and one that was rejected before FIFA's executive committee voted in November 2010. Two of the remaining nine bids applied only to the 2022 World Cup, while the rest were applications, initially, for both. Over the course of the bidding, all non-European bids for the 2018 event were withdrawn, resulting in the exclusion of all European bids from consideration for the 2022 edition. By the time of the decision, bids for the 2018 World Cup consisted of a joint bid from Belgium and Netherlands, England, a joint bid from Portugal and Spain, and Russia, while bids for the 2022 World Cup came from Australia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, and the United States. Indonesia's bid was disqualified for lack of governmental support. Mexico withdrew its bid due to financial reasons.
The bidding process was also subject to controversy. Two members of the FIFA executive committee had their voting rights suspended following allegations that they would accept money in exchange for votes. England and Russia's respective bids also were subject to controversy following an official complaint based upon FIFA's rules regarding talking about rival bidders, though the complaint was withdrawn following Russia's apology.
On 2 December 2010, Russia
and Qatar
were selected as the locations for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups respectively.
ineligible for 2018 and South America
ineligible for both 2018 and 2022. Other factors in the selection process include the number of suitable stadiums, and their location across candidate nations. Voting is done using a multiple round exhaustive ballot
system whereby the candidate receiving the fewest votes in each round is eliminated until a single candidate is chosen by the majority.
Following the selection of the 2006 World Cup
hosts, FIFA had decided on a policy for determining the hosts of future editions. The six world confederations—roughly corresponding to continents—would rotate in their turn of providing bids, for a specific edition, from within their member national associations. This system was used only for the selection of the 2010
(South Africa
) and 2014 World Cup
(Brazil
) hosts, open only to CAF
and CONMEBOL
members, respectively.
In September 2007, the rotation system came under review, and a new system was proposed which renders ineligible for bidding only the last two World Cup host confederations. This proposal was adopted on 29 October 2007, in Zürich
, Switzerland
by FIFA's Executive Committee. Under this policy, a 2018 bid could have come from North America
, Asia
, Europe
, or Oceania
, as Africa and South America are ineligible. Likewise, no CONMEBOL member could have made a 2022 bid, and candidates from the same confederation as the successful 2018 applicant would be disregarded in the 2022 selection procedure.
The United States, the last non-European candidate in the 2018 bidding cycle, withdrew its bid for that year; hence the 2018 tournament would have to be held in Europe. This in turn meant that South America and Europe were ineligible for 2022.
voted to decide which candidate should host the tournament. The multiple round exhaustive ballot system was used to determine the tournament host. All eligible members of the FIFA Executive Committee had one vote. The candidate country that received the fewest votes in each round was eliminated until a single candidate was chosen by the majority. In the event of a tied vote, FIFA President Sepp Blatter
would have had the deciding vote. There are twenty-four members on the Committee, but two of those were suspended due to accusations of selling votes
.
-Netherlands
and Portugal
-Spain
. Mexico also submitted a bid, but withdrew theirs on 28 September 2009, while Indonesia
had their bid rejected for lack of government support on 19 March 2010. Five of the remaining nine bids, South Korea
, Qatar
, Japan
, Australia
and United States
were only for the 2022 World Cup, while all the others bid for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. However, since all of the bids for the 2018 World Cup were from European nations, and FIFA's rules dictate that countries belonging to confederations that hosted either of the two preceding tournaments are not eligible to host, all of these bids were forced to be for 2018 only. Four bids came from the Asian Football Confederation
(AFC), four from Europe's UEFA
, and one from CONCACAF
. It had also been reported on the FIFA website that Egypt
was entering a bid, but the president of the Egyptian Football Association
denied that any more than an inquiry in principle had been made. The number of bids received meant that the 2018 World Cup was the most contested bid in FIFA's history.
, a Belgian
Member of Parliament
, announced in October 2006 that a formal bid would be made on behalf of the three Benelux
countries: Belgium
, the Netherlands
, and Luxembourg
.
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 emphasising it as a common political organisation.
Luxembourg would not host any matches or automatically qualify for the finals in a successful Benelux bid, but would host a FIFA congress.
Belgium and the Netherlands registered their intention to bid jointly in March 2009. A delegation led by the presidents of the Belgian and Dutch
national football associations met FIFA
president Sepp Blatter on 14 November 2007, officially announcing their interest in submitting a joint bid.
On 19 March 2008 the delegation also met with UEFA
President Michel Platini
to convince him that it was a serious offer under one management. Afterwards they claimed to have impressed Platini, who supports the idea of getting the World Cup to Europe. Former French football international Christian Karembeu
was presented as official counselor for the joint bid on 23 June 2009.
A factor that was against the Benelux bid was the lack of an 80,000 capacity stadium to host the final.
However, the city council of Rotterdam gave permission in March 2009 for development of a new stadium with a capacity of around 80,000 seats to be completed in time for the possible World Cup in 2018.
In November 2009, the venues were presented. In Belgium, matches would have been played in 7 venues: Antwerp, Bruges
, Brussels
, Charleroi
, Genk
, Ghent
and Liège
. In the Netherlands, only five cities would host matches: Amsterdam
, Eindhoven, Enschede
, Heerenveen
and Rotterdam
, but both Amsterdam and Rotterdam would provide two stadiums. Eindhoven would function as the 'capital city' of the World Cup. Euro 2000 was also jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands.
officially announced its bid to host the event. On 24 April 2008 England finalised a 63-page bid to host the 2018 World Cup, focusing on the development of football worldwide. On 27 January 2009, England officially submitted their bid to FIFA.
Richard Caborn
led England's bid to stage the event after stepping down as Sports Minister. On 24 October 2008 the Football Association
named the Executive Board to prepare the bid, with David Triesman
as the bid chairman. Triesman resigned on 16 May 2010 after comments were published where he suggested that Spain would drop their bid if Russia helped bribe referees in the 2010 FIFA World Cup
, and was then replaced by Geoff Thompson
.
The British government
backed the England 2018 bid. In November 2005, Chancellor
Gordon Brown
and Sport Minister
Tessa Jowell
first announced that they were to investigate the possibility of bidding.
That month, Adrian Bevington
, the Football Association
's Director of Communications, announced the support of the Government and the Treasury in the bid, but put off definite proposals.
Brown reiterated his support for a bid in March 2006, before England's 2006 World Cup campaign, and again in May 2006.
The UK government launched its official report on 12 February 2007, in which it was made clear that its support was for an England-only bid and that all games would be played at English grounds. The venues selected on 16 December 2009 to form the bid were: London
(three stadiums), Manchester
(two stadiums), Birmingham
, Bristol
, Leeds
, Liverpool
, Milton Keynes
, Newcastle
, Nottingham, Plymouth
, Sheffield
and Sunderland.
FIFA
officials also expressed interest in an English bid. David Will, a vice-president of FIFA, noted England
's World Cup proposal as early as May 2004.
Franz Beckenbauer
, leader of Germany's successful bid for the 2006 World Cup and a member of FIFA's Executive Committee, twice publicly backed an English bid to host the World Cup, in January and July 2007.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter
said he would welcome a 2018 bid from "the homeland of football."
Blatter met David Cameron on two occasions to discuss the bid while paying visits to England. The British Prime Minister showed much support for the bid and was hopeful that the "home of football" would host the tournament.
(FPF), Gilberto Madail, first proposed a joint bid with Spain in November 2007. The bid intent was confirmed by FIFA
president, Sepp Blatter
, on 18 February 2008.
However, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Angel Villar, announced in July 2008 that it was Spain's intention to submit an individual World Cup bid, and that positive contacts had already taken place with the government, through the secretary of sports, Jaime Lissavetzky. No specifications were made then regarding a joint bid with Portugal.
On 23 November 2008, after his re-election for the RFEF presidency, Villar pledged that one of the fundamental objectives of his term was to bring a World Cup to Spain. While he did not mention whether Spain would present a joint bid with Portugal, he did not rule it out when asked about it.
On 23 December 2008, Angel Villar restated "We need to present a strong, consistent and winning bid for the 2018 World Cup." He further confessed "Personally, I think it should be with Portugal." Subsequently, in the aftermath of a RFEF meeting board, Spain and Portugal announced their intention to bid together. Spanish sports newspaper Marca advanced some details about the potential bid: Spain would lead a twelve-stadium project with eight of the venues, and the opening and final games would be held in Lisbon
and Madrid
, respectively. Spain has previously hosted the 1982 World Cup
, while Portugal organised the Euro 2004.
announced its intent to bid in early 2009, and submitted its request to FIFA in time. Russia's Prime Minister and former President Vladimir Putin
took a keen interest in the bid and ordered Vitaly Mutko, the Minister of Sports, to "prepare a bid for Russia to hold the 2018 World Cup". According to a report earlier submitted by Vitaly Mutko, who also served that time as President of the Russian Football Union (RFU), the country was ready to spend some $10 billion on the tournament. The bid committee also included RFU CEO Alexey Sorokin and Alexander Djordjadze as the Director of Bid Planning and Operations.
Fourteen cities were included in the proposal, which divided them into five different clusters: one in the north, centered on St. Petersburg, a central cluster, centered on Moscow
, a southern cluster, centered on Sochi
, and the Volga River cluster. Only one city beyond the Ural Mountains was cited, Yekaterinburg
. The other cities were: Kaliningrad
in the north cluster, Rostov-on-Don
and Krasnodar
in the south cluster and Yaroslavl
, Nizhny Novgorod
, Kazan
, Saransk
, Samara
and Volgograd
in the Volga River cluster. At the time of bidding, Russia did not have a stadium with 80,000 capacity, but the bid called for the expansion of Luzhniki Stadium
in Moscow, already a UEFA Elite stadium, from a capacity of slightly over 78,000 to over 89,000. Russia hopes to have five stadiums fit to host World Cup matches ready by 2013 – two in Moscow
and one stadium each in St. Petersburg, Kazan
and Sochi
, which is due to host the 2014 Winter Olympics
.
confirmed that Australia would bid for the 2018 World Cup finals.
Previously, 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. Frank Lowy
, the FFA
chairman, stated that they aimed to use 16 stadiums for the bid.
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
announced the Federal Government's support for the bid,
and in December 2008, Federal minister for sport Kate Ellis
announced that the federal government would give the FFA $45.6 million to fund its World Cup bid preparation.
Rudd met with Sepp Blatter to discuss the Commonwealth Government's support of the bid in Zurich in July 2009.
At the 2008 FIFA Congress, held in Sydney
, FIFA president Sepp Blatter suggested that Australia concentrate on hosting the 2022 tournament, but Lowy responded by recommitting Australia to its 2018 bid. However, Australia ultimately withdrew from the bidding for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in favour of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on 10 June 2010, following comments from the chief of the Asian Football Confederation
that the 2018 tournament should be held in Europe.
Australia's largest stadiums are currently used by other major Australian sports whose domestic seasons overlap with the World Cup. The Australian Football League
and National Rugby League
claimed that loss of access to these major venues for eight weeks would severely disrupt their seasons and impact the viability of their clubs. The AFL in particular had previously advised it would not relinquish Etihad Stadium in Melbourne for the entire period required. On 9 May 2010 the AFL, NRL, and FFA announced a Memorandum of Understanding guaranteeing that the AFL and NRL seasons would continue, should the bid be successful. Compensation for the rival football codes would be awarded as a result of any disruptions caused by hosting the World Cup. AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou
came out in support of the bid, and Franz Beckenbauer
indicated that the issue was not considered by the FIFA Executive Committee
.
Although Japan did not have an 80,000-seat capacity stadium, its plan was based on a proposed 100,000-seat stadium that would have gone on to be a centrepiece of 2016 Olympics, for which Tokyo was bidding. The Olympic bid was unsuccessful, coming third in the bidding process that concluded in October 2009. The Vice-President of the Japan Football Association
, Junji Ogura, had previously admitted that if Tokyo were to fail in its bid, its chances of hosting either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup would not be very good.
On 4 May 2010, Japan announced that it was withdrawing its bid for the 2018 tournament to focus on 2022, amidst rising speculation that the 2018 edition will be held in Europe.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, son of the present Emir of Qatar, was the chairman of the bid committee.
Qatar planned to promote the bid as an Arab unity bid and hoped to draw on support from the entire Arab world
and were positioning this as an opportunity to bridge the gap between the Arab and Western worlds. The bid launched an advertising campaign across the nation in November 2009.
Some concerns with Qatar's bid deal with the extreme temperatures. The World Cup is always held in the European off-season in June and July and during this period the average daytime high in most of Qatar is in excess of 40 °C (104 °F), with the average daily low temperatures not dropping below 30 °C (86 °F). Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the 2022 Qatar bid chairman, responded saying "the event has to be organised in June or July. We will have to take the help of technology to counter the harsh weather. We have already set in motion the process. A stadium with controlled temperature is the answer to the problem. We have other plans up our sleeves as well." The first five proposed stadia are planned to employ cooling technology capable of reducing temperatures within the stadium by up to 20 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the upper tiers of the stadia will be dis-assembled after the World Cup and donated to countries with less developed sports infrastructure.
President of FIFA Sepp Blatter
endorsed the idea of having a World Cup in the Middle East, saying in April 2010, "The Arabic world deserves a World Cup. They have 22 countries and have not had any opportunity to organise the tournament." Blatter also praised Qatar's progress, "When I was first in Qatar there were 400,000 people here and now there are 1.6 million. In terms of infrastructure, when you are able to organise the Asian Games (in 2006)
with more than 30 events for men and women, then that is not in question." Qatar's bid to host the 2022 World Cup received a huge boost on 28 July 2010 when Asian Football Confederation
(AFC) President Mohammed Bin Hammam
threw his weight behind his country's campaign. Speaking in Singapore, Bin Hammam said: "I have one vote and, frankly speaking, I will vote for Qatar but if Qatar is not in the running I will vote for another Asian country." Qatar has already hosted the AFC Asian Cup in 1988, FIFA U-20 World Cup 1995 and the 2011 AFC Asian Cup
.
, was appointed as the Chairman of the Bidding Committee in August 2009. He met with FIFA President Sepp Blatter
in Zürich, Switzerland. In January 2010, the president Lee Myung-bak
visited the headquarter of FIFA in Zurich
, Switzerland
to meet Sepp Blatter in support of the South Korean bid.
Although South Korea did not have an 80,000 capacity stadium, it planned to upgrade an existing venue to meet that capacity. There are three grounds which can seat over 60,000 people—Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul World Cup Stadium
and Daegu Stadium. Another 70,000 seat stadium
is scheduled to be built in Incheon
as the main stadium for the 2014 Asian Games
. Other venues meet hosting requirements as they were built for the 2002 World Cup. The 12 Cities selected to hold the finals were South Korea to win the bid were selected in March 2010 and were Busan
, Cheonan
, Daegu
, Daejeon
, Goyang
, Gwangju
, Incheon
(2 Venues), Jeonju
, Jeju
, Seoul
(2 Venues), Suwon
and Ulsan
.
first said in February 2007 that it would put forth a bid for the 2018 World Cup. On 28 January 2009, U.S. Soccer then announced that it would submit bids for both the 2018 and 2022 Cups. David Downs, president of Univision
Sports, was executive director of the bid. Other committee members included president of U.S. Soccer
Sunil Gulati
, U.S. Soccer chief executive officer Dan Flynn, Major League Soccer
Commissioner Don Garber
, and Phil Murphy, the former national finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee
. 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.
However, Warner also stated that he preferred the USSF change their plans to make a bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
In April 2009, the bid committee identified 70 stadia in 50 communities as possible venues for the tournament, with 58 confirming their interest. The list of stadia was trimmed two months later to 45 in 37 cites, and then in August 2009 to 32 stadia in 27 cites. In January 2010, 18 cities and 21 stadia were selected for the final bid. The cities were Atlanta, Baltimore
, Boston
, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis
, Kansas City
, Los Angeles
, Miami, Nashville
, New York
, Philadelphia, Phoenix
, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa
, and Washington DC
. The cities with multiple qualifying stadiums were Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas and Washington, D.C. With several large American football
stadia, the 21 venues was to have an average capacity of 77,000 and none seat fewer than 65,000. Seven of the stadia seat at least 80,000. Two proposed stadia would be used by Major League Soccer
during the summer.
In October 2010 the United States withdrew from the 2018 bid process, to focus solely on the 2022 competition.
(PSSI) confirmed their intention to bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with government support. In February 2009, PSSI launched the "Green World Cup Indonesia 2022" campaign.
This campaign included a $1,000 million plan to upgrade supporting infrastructure beside stadia to meet FIFA's requirements. The funds to construct stadia were to come from regional governments. Indonesia had previously made World Cup history when it became the first Asian nation to play in a World Cup, at the 1938 tournament
in France under its colonial name of the Dutch East Indies. Indonesia also had tournament hosting experience as the co-host of 2007 AFC Asian Cup
.
In the campaign presentation, PSSI president Nurdin Halid said he believed Indonesia stood a chance to win FIFA's approval to host the 2022 World Cup, despite the relatively poor infrastructure, coupled with the low quality of the national squad compared to other candidates. He said Indonesia had proposed a "Green World Cup 2022", hoping to capitalise on the current green and global warming movement worldwide: "Our deforestation rate has contributed much to world pollution. By hosting the World Cup, we wish to build infrastructure and facilities that are environmentally friendly so we can give more to the planet."
The bid was launched at a moment when there were strong pressures from Indonesian football fans for Halid to step down from his position as chairman of PSSI. There was no official support from the government of Indonesia until 9 February 2010, the deadline for the country's government to file a letter of support for the bid. Secretary General of PSSI Nugraha Besoes did not deny that Indonesia could be disqualified from the bidding process because the Indonesian government did not support the bid. On 19 March 2010, FIFA rejected Indonesia's bid to host the 2022 World Cup because the government stated that their concern is for the people of the country and so could not support the bid as FIFA requested. As a consequence, PSSI threw their support behind Australia's bid for the 2022 tournament.
's standards. Thirteen new stadiums had been proposed, including venues in Baja California
, Monterrey
, Guadalajara
, Ciudad Juárez
, the Laguna region
, and Mexico City
, some of which had already been built, or were under construction, to serve the National League.
by the Insight team of the British newspaper The Sunday Times
, FIFA said it would investigate claims that two members of its executive committee wanted cash in exchange for support of countries bidding to host the 2018 World Cup. The two, Reynald Temarii
, a French FIFA vice-president (representing the OFC
territory of Tahiti
), and Amos Adamu
, a Nigerian member on the committee and the president of the West Africa Football Union
, were alleged to have told reporters in the guise of lobbyists for the United States, that they could guarantee a vote for the US bid $800,000. Adamu claimed the money he requested was to pay for four football stadia in Nigeria. FIFA then announced their suspension a few days later.
England's 2018 World Cup bid team withdrew a complaint to FIFA about Russia's campaign following an apology from their rival bidder. The Russian sports minister Vitaliy Mutko
apologised for comments made by Alexei Sorokin
, who is general director of the nation's bid team. England's official complaint was that Russia had broken bidding rules when he made disparaging comments about London. FIFA's committee met on 28 October to receive reports on the bids. The English bid team had complained on 26 October, that Sorokin highlighted London's "high crime rate" and youth alcohol problems in an interview with Russian media that appeared to contravene FIFA's rules about talking about rival bidders. Tensions between the two bids then intensified after Viacheslav Koloskov, honorary president of the Russian Football Union, referred to England's 2018 bid as "absolutely primitive" and "comical".
On 10 May 2011, the former England 2018 bid chief Lord Treisman
told a House of Commons select committee that four FIFA committee members approached him asking for various things in exchange for votes. Among the accused are FIFA Vice President Jack Warner, who is accused of asking for £2.5 million to be used for projects, and Nicolas Leoz
, who allegedly asked to be knighted. In November 2010, a documentary broadcast by the BBC
had alleged that FIFA officials voting on the World Cup bids had received large bribes between 1989 and 1999, which FIFA had not investigated and that FIFA requires bidding countries to agree to enact special laws granting FIFA and sponsors tax benefits.
Also on 10 May 2011, The Sunday Times reported that two committee members, Issa Hayatou
and Jacques Anouma were given $1.5 million in exchange for their votes in favor of Qatar. FIFA requested to see the evidence of the allegations. On 30 May 2011, FIFA President Sepp Blatter
rejected the evidence in a press conference, while Jack Warner, who had been suspended that day for a separate ethics violations pending an investigation, leaked an email from FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke
which suggested that Qatar had "bought" the rights to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Valcke subsequently issued a statement denying he had suggested it was bribery, saying instead that the country had "used its financial muscle to lobby for support". Qatar officials denied any impropriety. Theo Zwanziger
, President of the German Football Association
, also called on FIFA to re-examine the awarding of the Cup to Qatar. In February 2011, Blatter admitted that the Spanish and Qatari bid teams did trade votes.
announced the winning bids at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich. Russia was chosen to host the 2018 World Cup, and Qatar was chosen to host the 2022 World Cup. This made Russia the first Eastern European country to host the World Cup, while Qatar would be the first Middle East
ern country to host the World Cup.
Blatter noted that the committee had decided to "go to new lands" and reflected a desire to "develop football" by bringing it to more countries.
Roger Burden, who had been acting chairman of England's Football Association, withdrew his application for the permanent post days after the vote, saying he could not trust FIFA members due to their actions. England's bid executive Andy Anson said "I think it has to [change] because otherwise why would Australia, the USA, Holland, Belgium, England ever bother bidding again?" There was also a backlash from the media in the losing countries; the majority of British newspapers alleged that the World Cup had been "sold" to Russia, and the Spanish El Mundo
, Dutch Algemeen Dagblad
, the American Seattle Times and Wall Street Journal
, and the Japanese Nikkei
made comments about Russia and Qatar's commodity and energy reserves.
Shortly after the voting, ESPN.com
, the Internet arm of American sports broadcasting giant ESPN
, published a piece that partially linked Qatar's successful bid to Football Dreams, a youth development program that the country has bankrolled since 2005. At the time of bidding, Football Dreams operated in 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia—six of which had representatives on the FIFA executive committee.
Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness said that Blatter "has lost control" of FIFA and that "It's a scandal how things run there (at FIFA). Apparently, a bid nowadays can only be successful if payments are additionally made under the table. One scandal comes on the heels of another."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told his Qatari counterpart that hosting the tournament which "is a big athletic event which can promote football in the Persian Gulf area and Middle East region." He also said Iran was ready to help Qatar in hosting the event, while saying he hoped its neighbours "could achieve a reasonable share to attend the games." al-Thani "underlined [a] necessity of cooperation between regional countries to use and take advantage of the sport opportunity." He also added that Qatar's initiative would motivate its neighbours to "promote and develop their football."
2018 FIFA World Cup
The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups was the process by which the locations for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups were selected. The process began officially in March 2009; eleven bids from thirteen countries were received, including one which was withdrawn and one that was...
and 2022
2022 FIFA World Cup
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be the 22nd FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that is scheduled to take place in 2022 in Qatar. The competition is scheduled to take place in June and July, although proposals have been made for a winter season. The tournament will involve...
FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
s were selected. The process began officially in March 2009; eleven bids from thirteen countries were received, including one which was withdrawn and one that was rejected before FIFA's executive committee voted in November 2010. Two of the remaining nine bids applied only to the 2022 World Cup, while the rest were applications, initially, for both. Over the course of the bidding, all non-European bids for the 2018 event were withdrawn, resulting in the exclusion of all European bids from consideration for the 2022 edition. By the time of the decision, bids for the 2018 World Cup consisted of a joint bid from Belgium and Netherlands, England, a joint bid from Portugal and Spain, and Russia, while bids for the 2022 World Cup came from Australia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, and the United States. Indonesia's bid was disqualified for lack of governmental support. Mexico withdrew its bid due to financial reasons.
The bidding process was also subject to controversy. Two members of the FIFA executive committee had their voting rights suspended following allegations that they would accept money in exchange for votes. England and Russia's respective bids also were subject to controversy following an official complaint based upon FIFA's rules regarding talking about rival bidders, though the complaint was withdrawn following Russia's apology.
On 2 December 2010, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
were selected as the locations for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups respectively.
Background
In October 2007, FIFA ended its continental rotation policy. Instead countries that are members of the same confederation as either of the last two tournament hosts are ineligible, leaving AfricaConfederation of African Football
The Confederation of African Football is the administrative and controlling body for African association football.CAF represents the national football associations of Africa, runs continental, national, and club competitions, and controls the prize money, regulations and media rights to those...
ineligible for 2018 and South America
CONMEBOL
The South American Football Confederation , commonly known as CONMEBOL , is the continental governing body of association football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations...
ineligible for both 2018 and 2022. Other factors in the selection process include the number of suitable stadiums, and their location across candidate nations. Voting is done using a multiple round exhaustive ballot
Exhaustive ballot
The exhaustive ballot is a voting system used to elect a single winner. Under the exhaustive ballot the elector simply casts a single vote for his or her favorite candidate. However if no candidate is supported by an overall majority of votes then the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated...
system whereby the candidate receiving the fewest votes in each round is eliminated until a single candidate is chosen by the majority.
Rotation policy
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
hosts, FIFA had decided on a policy for determining the hosts of future editions. The six world confederations—roughly corresponding to continents—would rotate in their turn of providing bids, for a specific edition, from within their member national associations. This system was used only for the selection of the 2010
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
(South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
) and 2014 World Cup
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that will take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014....
(Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
) hosts, open only to CAF
Confederation of African Football
The Confederation of African Football is the administrative and controlling body for African association football.CAF represents the national football associations of Africa, runs continental, national, and club competitions, and controls the prize money, regulations and media rights to those...
and CONMEBOL
CONMEBOL
The South American Football Confederation , commonly known as CONMEBOL , is the continental governing body of association football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations...
members, respectively.
In September 2007, the rotation system came under review, and a new system was proposed which renders ineligible for bidding only the last two World Cup host confederations. This proposal was adopted on 29 October 2007, in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
by FIFA's Executive Committee. Under this policy, a 2018 bid could have come from North America
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football is the continental governing body for association football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean...
, Asia
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
, Europe
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
, or Oceania
Oceania Football Confederation
The Oceania Football Confederation is one of the six continental confederations of international association football, consisting of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and island nations such as Tonga, Fiji and other Pacific Island countries...
, as Africa and South America are ineligible. Likewise, no CONMEBOL member could have made a 2022 bid, and candidates from the same confederation as the successful 2018 applicant would be disregarded in the 2022 selection procedure.
The United States, the last non-European candidate in the 2018 bidding cycle, withdrew its bid for that year; hence the 2018 tournament would have to be held in Europe. This in turn meant that South America and Europe were ineligible for 2022.
Voting procedure
For both the 2018 and 2022 editions of the World Cup, the FIFA Executive CommitteeFIFA Executive Committee
FIFA Executive Committee is an institution of FIFA . It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of Congress...
voted to decide which candidate should host the tournament. The multiple round exhaustive ballot system was used to determine the tournament host. All eligible members of the FIFA Executive Committee had one vote. The candidate country that received the fewest votes in each round was eliminated until a single candidate was chosen by the majority. In the event of a tied vote, FIFA President Sepp Blatter
Sepp Blatter
Joseph S. Blatter , commonly known as Sepp Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA . He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007, and 2011...
would have had the deciding vote. There are twenty-four members on the Committee, but two of those were suspended due to accusations of selling votes
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
.
Schedule
| Date | |
|---|---|
| 15 January 2009 | Applications formally invited |
| 2 February 2009 | Closing date for registering intention to bid |
| 16 March 2009 | Deadline to submit completed bid registration forms |
| 14 May 2010 | Deadline for submission of full details of bid |
| 19 July 2010 | Four day individual applicant inspections begin |
| 17 September 2010 | Inspections end |
| 2 December 2010 | FIFA appointed hosts for 2018 and 2022 World Cups |
2018 bids
Eleven bids were submitted in March 2009 covering thirteen nations, with two joint bids: BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
-Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
-Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Mexico also submitted a bid, but withdrew theirs on 28 September 2009, while Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
had their bid rejected for lack of government support on 19 March 2010. Five of the remaining nine bids, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
were only for the 2022 World Cup, while all the others bid for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. However, since all of the bids for the 2018 World Cup were from European nations, and FIFA's rules dictate that countries belonging to confederations that hosted either of the two preceding tournaments are not eligible to host, all of these bids were forced to be for 2018 only. Four bids came from the Asian Football Confederation
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
(AFC), four from Europe's UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
, and one from CONCACAF
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football is the continental governing body for association football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean...
. It had also been reported on the FIFA website that Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
was entering a bid, but the president of the Egyptian Football Association
Egyptian Football Association
The Egyptian Football Association is the governing body of football in Egypt.The leading Egyptian clubs are as follows, with the total number of national competitions following the name of the club....
denied that any more than an inquiry in principle had been made. The number of bids received meant that the 2018 World Cup was the most contested bid in FIFA's history.
Belgium and the Netherlands
Alain CourtoisAlain Courtois
Alain Courtois is a Belgian politician. Born in Schaerbeek, he is Secretary General of the Belgian Football Association...
, a Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, announced in October 2006 that a formal bid would be made on behalf of the three Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
countries: Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
.
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
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, but emphasising it as a common political organisation.
Luxembourg would not host any matches or automatically qualify for the finals in a successful Benelux bid, but would host a FIFA congress.
Belgium and the Netherlands registered their intention to bid jointly in March 2009. A delegation led by the presidents of the Belgian and Dutch
Royal Dutch Football Association
The Royal Dutch Football Association is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues , the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch national football team. It is based in the municipality of Zeist.The KNVB came into being on 8 December 1889...
national football associations met FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
president Sepp Blatter on 14 November 2007, officially announcing their interest in submitting a joint bid.
On 19 March 2008 the delegation also met with UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
President Michel Platini
Michel Platini
Michel François Platini is a former French football player, manager and current president of UEFA. Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He participated in the 1978, 1982...
to convince him that it was a serious offer under one management. Afterwards they claimed to have impressed Platini, who supports the idea of getting the World Cup to Europe. Former French football international Christian Karembeu
Christian Karembeu
Christian Karembeu is a retired French international footballer and current scout for Arsenal Football Club...
was presented as official counselor for the joint bid on 23 June 2009.
A factor that was against the Benelux bid was the lack of an 80,000 capacity stadium to host the final.
However, the city council of Rotterdam gave permission in March 2009 for development of a new stadium with a capacity of around 80,000 seats to be completed in time for the possible World Cup in 2018.
In November 2009, the venues were presented. In Belgium, matches would have been played in 7 venues: Antwerp, Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Charleroi
Charleroi
Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...
, Genk
Genk
Genk is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the city of Genk itself...
, Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
and Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
. In the Netherlands, only five cities would host matches: Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Eindhoven, Enschede
Enschede
Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
, Heerenveen
Heerenveen
Heerenveen is a town in the Heerenveen municipality of the province of Friesland , in the north of the Netherlands.- History :The town was established in 1551 by three lords as a location for the purpose of digging peat which was used for fuel, hence the name...
and Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, but both Amsterdam and Rotterdam would provide two stadiums. Eindhoven would function as the 'capital city' of the World Cup. Euro 2000 was also jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands.
England
On 31 October 2007, The Football AssociationThe Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
officially announced its bid to host the event. On 24 April 2008 England finalised a 63-page bid to host the 2018 World Cup, focusing on the development of football worldwide. On 27 January 2009, England officially submitted their bid to FIFA.
Richard Caborn
Richard Caborn
Richard George Caborn PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Central from 1983 to 2010...
led England's bid to stage the event after stepping down as Sports Minister. On 24 October 2008 the Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
named the Executive Board to prepare the bid, with David Triesman
David Triesman, Baron Triesman
David Maxim Triesman, Baron Triesman is a former Chairman of the Football Association, a British politician, a Labour member of the House of Lords and previously a minister at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills....
as the bid chairman. Triesman resigned on 16 May 2010 after comments were published where he suggested that Spain would drop their bid if Russia helped bribe referees in the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
, and was then replaced by Geoff Thompson
Geoff Thompson (football)
Geoffrey "Geoff" Thompson OBE is the former chairman of the Football Association, and a vice-president of both UEFA and FIFA. He has long been associated with football especially in South Yorkshire, having previously been general manager of Doncaster Rovers and held senior positions in the...
.
The British government
Government of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...
backed the England 2018 bid. In November 2005, Chancellor
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
and Sport Minister
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport is a United Kingdom cabinet position with responsibility for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The role was created in 1992 by John Major as Secretary of State for National Heritage...
Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992. Formerly a member of both the Blair and Brown Cabinets, she is currently the Shadow Minister for the Olympics and Shadow Minister for London.-Early life:Tessa Jane...
first announced that they were to investigate the possibility of bidding.
That month, Adrian Bevington
Adrian Bevington
Adrian Bevington is the director of communications for the Football Association , a position he has held since 2004.-Career:...
, the Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
's Director of Communications, announced the support of the Government and the Treasury in the bid, but put off definite proposals.
Brown reiterated his support for a bid in March 2006, before England's 2006 World Cup campaign, and again in May 2006.
The UK government launched its official report on 12 February 2007, in which it was made clear that its support was for an England-only bid and that all games would be played at English grounds. The venues selected on 16 December 2009 to form the bid were: London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(three stadiums), Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
(two stadiums), Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
, Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, Nottingham, Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and Sunderland.
FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
officials also expressed interest in an English bid. David Will, a vice-president of FIFA, noted England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's World Cup proposal as early as May 2004.
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" , and his dominance on the football pitch...
, leader of Germany's successful bid for the 2006 World Cup and a member of FIFA's Executive Committee, twice publicly backed an English bid to host the World Cup, in January and July 2007.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter
Sepp Blatter
Joseph S. Blatter , commonly known as Sepp Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA . He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007, and 2011...
said he would welcome a 2018 bid from "the homeland of football."
Blatter met David Cameron on two occasions to discuss the bid while paying visits to England. The British Prime Minister showed much support for the bid and was hopeful that the "home of football" would host the tournament.
Portugal and Spain
The President of the Portuguese Football FederationPortuguese Football Federation
The Portuguese Football Federation is the governing body of football in Portugal. The Portuguese National team is going to win the Euro 2012. It organises the Second and Third Division, the Cup of Portugal, the Portuguese SuperCup, youth levels, women's football, beach soccer, futsal, and also...
(FPF), Gilberto Madail, first proposed a joint bid with Spain in November 2007. The bid intent was confirmed by FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
president, Sepp Blatter
Sepp Blatter
Joseph S. Blatter , commonly known as Sepp Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA . He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007, and 2011...
, on 18 February 2008.
However, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Angel Villar, announced in July 2008 that it was Spain's intention to submit an individual World Cup bid, and that positive contacts had already taken place with the government, through the secretary of sports, Jaime Lissavetzky. No specifications were made then regarding a joint bid with Portugal.
On 23 November 2008, after his re-election for the RFEF presidency, Villar pledged that one of the fundamental objectives of his term was to bring a World Cup to Spain. While he did not mention whether Spain would present a joint bid with Portugal, he did not rule it out when asked about it.
On 23 December 2008, Angel Villar restated "We need to present a strong, consistent and winning bid for the 2018 World Cup." He further confessed "Personally, I think it should be with Portugal." Subsequently, in the aftermath of a RFEF meeting board, Spain and Portugal announced their intention to bid together. Spanish sports newspaper Marca advanced some details about the potential bid: Spain would lead a twelve-stadium project with eight of the venues, and the opening and final games would be held in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
and Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, respectively. Spain has previously hosted the 1982 World Cup
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:...
, while Portugal organised the Euro 2004.
Russia
RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
announced its intent to bid in early 2009, and submitted its request to FIFA in time. Russia's Prime Minister and former President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
took a keen interest in the bid and ordered Vitaly Mutko, the Minister of Sports, to "prepare a bid for Russia to hold the 2018 World Cup". According to a report earlier submitted by Vitaly Mutko, who also served that time as President of the Russian Football Union (RFU), the country was ready to spend some $10 billion on the tournament. The bid committee also included RFU CEO Alexey Sorokin and Alexander Djordjadze as the Director of Bid Planning and Operations.
Fourteen cities were included in the proposal, which divided them into five different clusters: one in the north, centered on St. Petersburg, a central cluster, centered on Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, a southern cluster, centered on Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
, and the Volga River cluster. Only one city beyond the Ural Mountains was cited, Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
. The other cities were: Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
in the north cluster, Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don
-History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...
and Krasnodar
Krasnodar
Krasnodar is a city in Southern Russia, located on the Kuban River about northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai . Population: -Name:...
in the south cluster and Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities...
, Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
, Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
, Saransk
Saransk
Saransk is a city in central European Russia and the capital of the Republic of Mordovia, as well as its financial and economic center. It is located in the Volga basin at the confluence of the Saranka and Insar Rivers, about east of Moscow...
, Samara
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
and Volgograd
Volgograd
Volgograd , formerly called Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is long, north to south, situated on the western bank of the Volga River...
in the Volga River cluster. At the time of bidding, Russia did not have a stadium with 80,000 capacity, but the bid called for the expansion of Luzhniki Stadium
Luzhniki Stadium
The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow, or briefly Luzhniki Stadium , is the biggest sports stadium in Russia. Its total seating capacity is 78,360 seats, all covered. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, previously called the Central Lenin Stadium...
in Moscow, already a UEFA Elite stadium, from a capacity of slightly over 78,000 to over 89,000. Russia hopes to have five stadiums fit to host World Cup matches ready by 2013 – two in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and one stadium each in St. Petersburg, Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
and Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
, which is due to host the 2014 Winter Olympics
2014 Winter Olympics
The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games, or the 22nd Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event scheduled to be celebrated from 7 to 23 February 2014, in Sochi, Russia with some events held in the resort town of Krasnaya Polyana. Both the Olympic and...
.
Australia
In September 2007, the Football Federation AustraliaFootball Federation Australia
Football Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...
confirmed that Australia would bid for the 2018 World Cup finals.
Previously, in late May 2006, the Victorian
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
sports minister, Justin Madden
Justin Madden
Madden was 206 cm tall, and one of the tallest men ever to play Australian Rules football, and his potential in this area was fully utilized by Carlton, who used him as their main ruckman. Over the next fifteen seasons, Madden became a mainstay of the Carlton side, and one of the most...
, said that he wanted his state to drive a bid to stage the 2018 World Cup. Frank Lowy
Frank Lowy
Frank Lowy, AC is an Australian-Israeli businessman. He is a co-founder of the Westfield Group, operator of over 100 shopping centres in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Great Britain...
, the FFA
Football Federation Australia
Football Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...
chairman, stated that they aimed to use 16 stadiums for the bid.
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
announced the Federal Government's support for the bid,
and in December 2008, Federal minister for sport Kate Ellis
Kate Ellis
Katherine Margaret "Kate" Ellis, MP is an Australian politician, representing the federal division of Adelaide since 2004 and is currently the Minister for Employment Participation and Childcare and the Minister for the Status of Women in the Gillard Government.-Early life and career:Ellis was...
announced that the federal government would give the FFA $45.6 million to fund its World Cup bid preparation.
Rudd met with Sepp Blatter to discuss the Commonwealth Government's support of the bid in Zurich in July 2009.
At the 2008 FIFA Congress, held in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, FIFA president Sepp Blatter suggested that Australia concentrate on hosting the 2022 tournament, but Lowy responded by recommitting Australia to its 2018 bid. However, Australia ultimately withdrew from the bidding for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in favour of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on 10 June 2010, following comments from the chief of the Asian Football Confederation
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
that the 2018 tournament should be held in Europe.
Australia's largest stadiums are currently used by other major Australian sports whose domestic seasons overlap with the World Cup. The Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
and National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
claimed that loss of access to these major venues for eight weeks would severely disrupt their seasons and impact the viability of their clubs. The AFL in particular had previously advised it would not relinquish Etihad Stadium in Melbourne for the entire period required. On 9 May 2010 the AFL, NRL, and FFA announced a Memorandum of Understanding guaranteeing that the AFL and NRL seasons would continue, should the bid be successful. Compensation for the rival football codes would be awarded as a result of any disruptions caused by hosting the World Cup. AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou
Andrew Demetriou
Andrew Demetriou is the chief executive officer of the Australian Football League and a former Australian rules footballer. He is the youngest son of Greek-Cypriot immigrants and, before becoming a VFL player, he worked in the dental import industry...
came out in support of the bid, and Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" , and his dominance on the football pitch...
indicated that the issue was not considered by the FIFA Executive Committee
FIFA Executive Committee
FIFA Executive Committee is an institution of FIFA . It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of Congress...
.
Japan
Japan bid to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice; however, the fact that they were co-hosts so recently in 2002 was expected to work against them in their bid.Although Japan did not have an 80,000-seat capacity stadium, its plan was based on a proposed 100,000-seat stadium that would have gone on to be a centrepiece of 2016 Olympics, for which Tokyo was bidding. The Olympic bid was unsuccessful, coming third in the bidding process that concluded in October 2009. The Vice-President of the Japan Football Association
Japan Football Association
The Japan Football Association, sometimes known as the Japan Soccer Association , is the governing body responsible for the administration of association football in Japan. It is responsible for the national team as well as club competitions....
, Junji Ogura, had previously admitted that if Tokyo were to fail in its bid, its chances of hosting either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup would not be very good.
On 4 May 2010, Japan announced that it was withdrawing its bid for the 2018 tournament to focus on 2022, amidst rising speculation that the 2018 edition will be held in Europe.
Qatar
Qatar made a bid for only the 2022 World Cup. Qatar was attempting to become the first Arab country to host the World Cup.Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, son of the present Emir of Qatar, was the chairman of the bid committee.
Qatar planned to promote the bid as an Arab unity bid and hoped to draw on support from the entire Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
and were positioning this as an opportunity to bridge the gap between the Arab and Western worlds. The bid launched an advertising campaign across the nation in November 2009.
Some concerns with Qatar's bid deal with the extreme temperatures. The World Cup is always held in the European off-season in June and July and during this period the average daytime high in most of Qatar is in excess of 40 °C (104 °F), with the average daily low temperatures not dropping below 30 °C (86 °F). Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the 2022 Qatar bid chairman, responded saying "the event has to be organised in June or July. We will have to take the help of technology to counter the harsh weather. We have already set in motion the process. A stadium with controlled temperature is the answer to the problem. We have other plans up our sleeves as well." The first five proposed stadia are planned to employ cooling technology capable of reducing temperatures within the stadium by up to 20 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the upper tiers of the stadia will be dis-assembled after the World Cup and donated to countries with less developed sports infrastructure.
President of FIFA Sepp Blatter
Sepp Blatter
Joseph S. Blatter , commonly known as Sepp Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA . He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007, and 2011...
endorsed the idea of having a World Cup in the Middle East, saying in April 2010, "The Arabic world deserves a World Cup. They have 22 countries and have not had any opportunity to organise the tournament." Blatter also praised Qatar's progress, "When I was first in Qatar there were 400,000 people here and now there are 1.6 million. In terms of infrastructure, when you are able to organise the Asian Games (in 2006)
2006 Asian Games
The 15th Asian Games, officially known as the XV Asiad, is Asia's Olympic-style sporting event that was held in Doha, Qatar from December 1 to December 15, 2006. Doha was the first city in its region and only the second in West Asia to host the games...
with more than 30 events for men and women, then that is not in question." Qatar's bid to host the 2022 World Cup received a huge boost on 28 July 2010 when Asian Football Confederation
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
(AFC) President Mohammed Bin Hammam
Mohammed Bin Hammam
Mohamed bin Hammam is a Qatari who was formerly a football administrator and president of the Asian Football Confederation from 1 August 2002 to 14 June 2011, and a member of FIFA's 24-man executive committee from 1996 to 2011 for more than 15 years...
threw his weight behind his country's campaign. Speaking in Singapore, Bin Hammam said: "I have one vote and, frankly speaking, I will vote for Qatar but if Qatar is not in the running I will vote for another Asian country." Qatar has already hosted the AFC Asian Cup in 1988, FIFA U-20 World Cup 1995 and the 2011 AFC Asian Cup
2011 AFC Asian Cup
The 2011 AFC Asian Cup finals were held in Qatar on 7–29 January 2011. It was the fifteenth time the tournament has been held, and the second time it has been hosted by Qatar, the other being the 1988 AFC Asian Cup...
.
South Korea
South Korea bid only for the 2022 World Cup. They were bidding to become the first Asian country to host the World Cup twice; however, the fact that they were co-hosts so recently in 2002 was expected to work against them in their bid. Han Seung-Joo, a former South Korean Minister of Foreign AffairsMinistry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (South Korea)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is in charge of diplomacy for South Korea, as well as handling external trade and matters related to overseas Korean nationals. It was established on 17 July 1948. Until 1998, the ministry was known as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; its jurisdiction over...
, was appointed as the Chairman of the Bidding Committee in August 2009. He met with FIFA President Sepp Blatter
Sepp Blatter
Joseph S. Blatter , commonly known as Sepp Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA . He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007, and 2011...
in Zürich, Switzerland. In January 2010, the president Lee Myung-bak
Lee Myung-bak
Lee Myung-bak is the President of South Korea. Prior to his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction and the mayor of Seoul. He is married to Kim Yoon-ok and has three daughters and one son. His older brother is Lee Sang-deuk, a South Korean politician. He attends the...
visited the headquarter of FIFA in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
to meet Sepp Blatter in support of the South Korean bid.
Although South Korea did not have an 80,000 capacity stadium, it planned to upgrade an existing venue to meet that capacity. There are three grounds which can seat over 60,000 people—Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul World Cup Stadium
Seoul World Cup Stadium
The Seoul World Cup Stadium, also known as Sangam Stadium, is located in Seongsan, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and opened in 2001. It was designed to represent the image of a traditional Korean kite...
and Daegu Stadium. Another 70,000 seat stadium
Incheon Asiad Main Stadium
Incheon Asiad Main Stadium is a planned multi-use stadium in Incheon, South Korea. Once completed in 2014, it will be used mostly for athletics meets and will be the main host of the 2014 Asian Games. The stadium has been designed with an initial capacity of between 60,000 spectators...
is scheduled to be built in Incheon
Incheon
The Incheon Metropolitan City is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City...
as the main stadium for the 2014 Asian Games
2014 Asian Games
The 2014 Asian Games, officially known as the XVII Asiad, is the largest sporting event in Asia governed by Olympic Council of Asia . It is scheduled to take place in Incheon, South Korea from September 19–October 4, 2014, with 36 sports set to feature in the Games.Incheon was awarded the right on...
. Other venues meet hosting requirements as they were built for the 2002 World Cup. The 12 Cities selected to hold the finals were South Korea to win the bid were selected in March 2010 and were Busan
Busan
Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...
, Cheonan
Cheonan
Cheonan is a city located in the northeast corner of South Chungcheong, a province of South Korea, and is 83.6 km south of the capital, Seoul...
, Daegu
Daegu
Daegu , also known as Taegu, and officially the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the country with over 2.5 million residents. The city is the capital and principal city of the...
, Daejeon
Daejeon
Daejeon is South Korea's fifth largest metropolis and the provincial capital of Chungnam. Located in the center of the country, Daejeon had a population of over 1.5 million in 2010. It is at the crossroads of Gyeongbu railway, Honam railway, Gyeongbu Expressway, and Honam Expressway. Within the...
, Goyang
Goyang
Goyang is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Goyang includes the new city of Ilsan, which is connected to Seoul via Seoul Subway Line 3. Goyang is bordered by Seoul to the south; walls of the Bukhan Mountain Fortress lie along a small portion of this border.Several institutions of higher...
, Gwangju
Gwangju
Gwangju is the sixth largest city in South Korea. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister...
, Incheon
Incheon
The Incheon Metropolitan City is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City...
(2 Venues), Jeonju
Jeonju
Jeonju is a city in South Korea, and the capital of Jeollabuk-do, or North Jeolla Province. It is an important tourist center famous for Korean food, historic buildings, sports activities and innovative festivals.- History :...
, Jeju
Jeju City
Jeju is the capital of Jeju province in South Korea and the largest city on the island of Jeju. Its geographical location is . The city is served by Jeju International Airport ....
, Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
(2 Venues), Suwon
Suwon
Suwon is the provincial capital of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. A major city of over a million inhabitants, Suwon lies approximately south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety"....
and Ulsan
Ulsan
Ulsan , officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh largest metropolis with a population of over 1.1 million. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring Busan to the south and facing Gyeongju to the north and the Sea of Japan to the east.Ulsan is the...
.
United States
U.S. SoccerUnited States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation is the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois. It is a member of FIFA and is responsible for governing amateur and professional soccer, including the men's, women's, youth, futsal...
first said in February 2007 that it would put forth a bid for the 2018 World Cup. On 28 January 2009, U.S. Soccer then announced that it would submit bids for both the 2018 and 2022 Cups. David Downs, president of Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
Sports, was executive director of the bid. Other committee members included president of U.S. Soccer
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation is the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois. It is a member of FIFA and is responsible for governing amateur and professional soccer, including the men's, women's, youth, futsal...
Sunil Gulati
Sunil Gulati
Sunil Gulati is the current president of the United States Soccer Federation and special advisor to The Kraft Group and the Kraft family...
, U.S. Soccer chief executive officer Dan Flynn, Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
Commissioner Don Garber
Don Garber
Donald Garber is the commissioner of Major League Soccer, CEO of Soccer United Marketing, and a member of the United States Soccer Federation board of directors. Garber has spent his entire career in the sports industry, working in a variety of capacities in marketing, television and league...
, and Phil Murphy, the former national finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
. 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.
However, Warner also stated that he preferred the USSF change their plans to make a bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
In April 2009, the bid committee identified 70 stadia in 50 communities as possible venues for the tournament, with 58 confirming their interest. The list of stadia was trimmed two months later to 45 in 37 cites, and then in August 2009 to 32 stadia in 27 cites. In January 2010, 18 cities and 21 stadia were selected for the final bid. The cities were Atlanta, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Miami, Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Philadelphia, Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, and Washington DC
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. The cities with multiple qualifying stadiums were Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas and Washington, D.C. With several large American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
stadia, the 21 venues was to have an average capacity of 77,000 and none seat fewer than 65,000. Seven of the stadia seat at least 80,000. Two proposed stadia would be used by Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
during the summer.
In October 2010 the United States withdrew from the 2018 bid process, to focus solely on the 2022 competition.
Cancelled bids
Two countries had to cancel bids for the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cups before individual evaluations began. Mexico cancelled its bid for both cups, while Indonesia was only bidding for the 2022 World Cup.Indonesia
In January 2009 the Football Association of IndonesiaFootball Association of Indonesia
The Football Association of Indonesia or PSSI is the governing body of football in Indonesia. It was founded on April 19, 1930, 15 years before Indonesian independence...
(PSSI) confirmed their intention to bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with government support. In February 2009, PSSI launched the "Green World Cup Indonesia 2022" campaign.
This campaign included a $1,000 million plan to upgrade supporting infrastructure beside stadia to meet FIFA's requirements. The funds to construct stadia were to come from regional governments. Indonesia had previously made World Cup history when it became the first Asian nation to play in a World Cup, at the 1938 tournament
1938 FIFA World Cup
The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third staging of the World Cup, and was held in France from 4 June to 19 June. Italy retained the championship, beating Hungary 4–2 in the final.-Host selection:...
in France under its colonial name of the Dutch East Indies. Indonesia also had tournament hosting experience as the co-host of 2007 AFC Asian Cup
2007 AFC Asian Cup
The Asian Football Confederation's 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals were held from July 7 to July 29, 2007. For the first time in its history, the competition was co-hosted by four nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The tournament was won by first-time champions Iraq, who defeated Saudi...
.
In the campaign presentation, PSSI president Nurdin Halid said he believed Indonesia stood a chance to win FIFA's approval to host the 2022 World Cup, despite the relatively poor infrastructure, coupled with the low quality of the national squad compared to other candidates. He said Indonesia had proposed a "Green World Cup 2022", hoping to capitalise on the current green and global warming movement worldwide: "Our deforestation rate has contributed much to world pollution. By hosting the World Cup, we wish to build infrastructure and facilities that are environmentally friendly so we can give more to the planet."
The bid was launched at a moment when there were strong pressures from Indonesian football fans for Halid to step down from his position as chairman of PSSI. There was no official support from the government of Indonesia until 9 February 2010, the deadline for the country's government to file a letter of support for the bid. Secretary General of PSSI Nugraha Besoes did not deny that Indonesia could be disqualified from the bidding process because the Indonesian government did not support the bid. On 19 March 2010, FIFA rejected Indonesia's bid to host the 2022 World Cup because the government stated that their concern is for the people of the country and so could not support the bid as FIFA requested. As a consequence, PSSI threw their support behind Australia's bid for the 2022 tournament.
Mexico
Former Mexican Football Federation President, Alberto de la Torre, announced their intention to bid for the cup in 2005. Mexico had originally hoped to bid for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but was ineligible because of the rotation policy at that time. If chosen for either 2018 or 2022, Mexico would have become the first country to host the World Cup for a third time. However, Mexico pulled out of the bidding process on 28 September 2009. Justino Compeán and Decio de María, president and secretary respectively of the Mexican Football Federation, announced the withdrawal citing a lack of funding both from within the Federation and through third parties, largely due to the contemporary global recession. It is thought that the age of Mexico's stadiums meant that they would have required significant investment to meet FIFAFIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
's standards. Thirteen new stadiums had been proposed, including venues in Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
, Guadalajara
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
, Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
, the Laguna region
Comarca Lagunera
The Comarca Lagunera is the 9th largest metropolitan area in Mexico, and is located between two states, Coahuila and Durango.-Geography:The Comarca Lagunera is formed by 15 municipios; 5 in Coahuila The Comarca Lagunera is the 9th largest metropolitan area in Mexico, and is located between two...
, and Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, some of which had already been built, or were under construction, to serve the National League.
Controversy
Following an exposéInvestigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
by the Insight team of the British newspaper The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, FIFA said it would investigate claims that two members of its executive committee wanted cash in exchange for support of countries bidding to host the 2018 World Cup. The two, Reynald Temarii
Reynald Temarii
Reynald Temarii is a French former footballer, politician from Tahiti and president of the Oceania Football Confederation...
, a French FIFA vice-president (representing the OFC
OFC
OFC may refer to:* Corporate Office Properties Trust * Oceania Football Confederation* Offshore Financial Centre* Online Film Critics Society* Open fiber control* Open Financial Connectivity* Optical fiber cable* Optical Fiber Conference...
territory of Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
), and Amos Adamu
Amos Adamu
Dr. Amos Adamu was Director General of the Nigerian National Sports Commission for ten years before being redeployed in November 2008. Before his appointment as Director General, Adamu was the Director of Sports of the ministry for 10 years.-Career:...
, a Nigerian member on the committee and the president of the West Africa Football Union
West Africa Football Union
The West Africa Football Union is an association of the football playing nations in West Africa.It was the brainchild of the Senegal Football Federation who requested that the nations belonging to CAF's Zone A and B meet and hold a regular competitive tournament.The Union organise several...
, were alleged to have told reporters in the guise of lobbyists for the United States, that they could guarantee a vote for the US bid $800,000. Adamu claimed the money he requested was to pay for four football stadia in Nigeria. FIFA then announced their suspension a few days later.
England's 2018 World Cup bid team withdrew a complaint to FIFA about Russia's campaign following an apology from their rival bidder. The Russian sports minister Vitaliy Mutko
Vitaliy Mutko
Vitaly Leontiyevich Mutko is a Russian politician. Since May 2008, he has been Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth policy.Mutko was previously president of the Russian side FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, and then of the Russian Football Union.-World Cup bid:...
apologised for comments made by Alexei Sorokin
Alexei Sorokin
Alexei Ivanovich Sorokin born 1922 is a retired Soviet Admiral of the Fleet and former member of the Council of Peoples Deputies....
, who is general director of the nation's bid team. England's official complaint was that Russia had broken bidding rules when he made disparaging comments about London. FIFA's committee met on 28 October to receive reports on the bids. The English bid team had complained on 26 October, that Sorokin highlighted London's "high crime rate" and youth alcohol problems in an interview with Russian media that appeared to contravene FIFA's rules about talking about rival bidders. Tensions between the two bids then intensified after Viacheslav Koloskov, honorary president of the Russian Football Union, referred to England's 2018 bid as "absolutely primitive" and "comical".
On 10 May 2011, the former England 2018 bid chief Lord Treisman
David Triesman, Baron Triesman
David Maxim Triesman, Baron Triesman is a former Chairman of the Football Association, a British politician, a Labour member of the House of Lords and previously a minister at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills....
told a House of Commons select committee that four FIFA committee members approached him asking for various things in exchange for votes. Among the accused are FIFA Vice President Jack Warner, who is accused of asking for £2.5 million to be used for projects, and Nicolas Leoz
Nicolás Léoz
Nicolás Leoz Almirón is the current President of CONMEBOL . Leoz assumed the presidency in 1986 and in February 2006 he was reelected as President for the sixth time...
, who allegedly asked to be knighted. In November 2010, a documentary broadcast by the BBC
FIFA's Dirty Secrets
"FIFA's Dirty Secrets" is an episode of the BBC documentary series Panorama which was broadcast on 29 November 2010. The half-hour programme saw investigative journalist Andrew Jennings look into allegations of corruption with FIFA, the world's governing body of association football...
had alleged that FIFA officials voting on the World Cup bids had received large bribes between 1989 and 1999, which FIFA had not investigated and that FIFA requires bidding countries to agree to enact special laws granting FIFA and sponsors tax benefits.
Also on 10 May 2011, The Sunday Times reported that two committee members, Issa Hayatou
Issa Hayatou
Issa Hayatou is the president of the Confederation of African Football , named in 1987. In 2002, he ran for president of FIFA but was defeated by current president Sepp Blatter...
and Jacques Anouma were given $1.5 million in exchange for their votes in favor of Qatar. FIFA requested to see the evidence of the allegations. On 30 May 2011, FIFA President Sepp Blatter
Sepp Blatter
Joseph S. Blatter , commonly known as Sepp Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA . He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007, and 2011...
rejected the evidence in a press conference, while Jack Warner, who had been suspended that day for a separate ethics violations pending an investigation, leaked an email from FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke
Jérôme Valcke
Jérôme Valcke is a French Manager and as of 27 June 2007 he is employed as the General Secretary of the international football federation in Zürich.- Career :...
which suggested that Qatar had "bought" the rights to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Valcke subsequently issued a statement denying he had suggested it was bribery, saying instead that the country had "used its financial muscle to lobby for support". Qatar officials denied any impropriety. Theo Zwanziger
Theo Zwanziger
Dr. Theo Zwanziger is a German lawyer and sports official. He is the current president of the German Football Association . For his contributions to German football, he received the Bundesverdienstkreuz in 2005.- Career :...
, President of the German Football Association
German Football Association
The German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is...
, also called on FIFA to re-examine the awarding of the Cup to Qatar. In February 2011, Blatter admitted that the Spanish and Qatari bid teams did trade votes.
Selection
On 2 December 2010, FIFA president Sepp BlatterSepp Blatter
Joseph S. Blatter , commonly known as Sepp Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA . He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007, and 2011...
announced the winning bids at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich. Russia was chosen to host the 2018 World Cup, and Qatar was chosen to host the 2022 World Cup. This made Russia the first Eastern European country to host the World Cup, while Qatar would be the first Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern country to host the World Cup.
Blatter noted that the committee had decided to "go to new lands" and reflected a desire to "develop football" by bringing it to more countries.
Voting rounds
In each round a majority of 12 votes was needed. If no bid received 12 votes in a round, the bid with the least amount of votes in that round was eliminated. The actual votes cast were as follows:| Country | Vote | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |
| 9 | 13 | |
| / | 7 | 7 |
| / | 4 | 2 |
| 2 | – | |
| Total Votes | 22 | 22 |
| Country | Vote | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 11 | 10 | 11 | 14 | |
| 3 | 5 | 6 | 8 | |
| 4 | 5 | 5 | – | |
| 3 | 2 | – | – | |
| 1 | – | – | – | |
| Total Votes | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
Reaction
In reaction to the announcement there were celebrations on the street of Doha. The Qatar Stock Exchange responded strongly with increased participation in trading following the announcement.Roger Burden, who had been acting chairman of England's Football Association, withdrew his application for the permanent post days after the vote, saying he could not trust FIFA members due to their actions. England's bid executive Andy Anson said "I think it has to [change] because otherwise why would Australia, the USA, Holland, Belgium, England ever bother bidding again?" There was also a backlash from the media in the losing countries; the majority of British newspapers alleged that the World Cup had been "sold" to Russia, and the Spanish El Mundo
El Mundo (Spain)
El Mundo is the second largest printed and the largest digital daily newspaper in Spain and one of the newspapers of record in that country, with a daily circulation topping 300,000 readers for the printed edition and 24 million unique web visitors per month for the...
, Dutch Algemeen Dagblad
Algemeen Dagblad
The Algemeen Dagblad is a Dutch newspaper. Founded in Rotterdam in 1946, it currently has a daily circulation of 315,000. The newspaper is owned by AD NieuwsMedia, a joint venture between Wegener and PCM Uitgevers....
, the American Seattle Times and Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, and the Japanese Nikkei
Nikkei
Nikkei can refer to:, abbreviated 日経, Nikkei, a large media corporation in Japan, a Japanese stock market index, published by Nihon Keizai Shimbun, often simply Nikkei, people in the Japanese diaspora...
made comments about Russia and Qatar's commodity and energy reserves.
Shortly after the voting, ESPN.com
ESPN.com
ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...
, the Internet arm of American sports broadcasting giant ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, published a piece that partially linked Qatar's successful bid to Football Dreams, a youth development program that the country has bankrolled since 2005. At the time of bidding, Football Dreams operated in 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia—six of which had representatives on the FIFA executive committee.
Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness said that Blatter "has lost control" of FIFA and that "It's a scandal how things run there (at FIFA). Apparently, a bid nowadays can only be successful if payments are additionally made under the table. One scandal comes on the heels of another."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told his Qatari counterpart that hosting the tournament which "is a big athletic event which can promote football in the Persian Gulf area and Middle East region." He also said Iran was ready to help Qatar in hosting the event, while saying he hoped its neighbours "could achieve a reasonable share to attend the games." al-Thani "underlined [a] necessity of cooperation between regional countries to use and take advantage of the sport opportunity." He also added that Qatar's initiative would motivate its neighbours to "promote and develop their football."