Other potential bids for 2018
Australia
Australia have a lot of world class stadiums at their disposal and a recent history of hosting a successful Rugby World Cup, Olympics and Commonwealth games. Football Australia are yet to comment, but a bid is likely and could be succeed if not in 2018 then for 2022. Read more on an Australian 2018 bid here.
Canada
Canada has shown some interest in making a bid, if not on their own then with the USA & maybe Mexico too. A lot of new stadiums would need to be built to cater for the tournament.
China
China host the 2008 Summer Olympics, the success of these games could have quite an impact on their potential to bid for the World Cup Finals. They are due to host the Womens World Cup for a second time in 2007 and FIFA President Sepp Blatter has suggested that they may be a candidate to host 2018. Read more on a Chinese 2018 bid here.
Mexico
The Mexicans are interested in hosting the 2018 World Cup, they have hosted the competition on two previous occassions (1970 & 1986). The Mexican Football Federation want to be ready if FIFA look at the CONCACAF area to provide a host.
Netherlands & Belgium
There has been some talk of the joint hosts of the European Championships in 2000 working together for a World Cup hosting bid, but FIFA have recently said that joint hosting bids won’t be allowed in the future. There is a chance though as both share the same currency and have open land borders between them as part of the EU. Read more on a Benelux bid here.
Spain
Spain have hosted the World Cup on one previous occassion in 1982 and could be England’s main challengers from Europe for 2018, little details are to emerge so far from Spain though.
Russia
Russia will bid for the 2018 World Cup after Russian Minister of Sport Viacheslav Fetisov announced their intent, read more on a Russian 2018 bid here.
Bid Information
March 6, 2007 @ 1:17 am
tom19770 said:
it is about time the world’s premier competion is played in the country that created it. sepp blatter is only bitter because we did no agree with him
March 7, 2007 @ 5:23 pm
Robert Grant said:
haha it should be in INDIA. Yeh Baby
April 18, 2007 @ 4:46 pm
Ranting Yorkshireman said:
I’ve already ruled out Canada— i’ll be stunned if they get it, but the others have great bids. I really want this one to come home so we need to step up our bid
April 29, 2007 @ 8:15 pm
bluemengroup member said:
what about usa?
April 30, 2007 @ 3:37 pm
Paul said:
Canada, China and Oz must be the favourites as they havent had it before. Also, Russia might bid I have heard.
May 27, 2007 @ 3:35 am
Adian Jones said:
The real danger is if FIFA decide not to allow europe to have the 2018 tournament. If it ends up open to everyone then the potential for englands bid is much greater than that of any other nation. UEFA has indicated it will support us and the other nations lack passion for football and good infrastructure (e.g. Australia has a lot of big stadiums but many are cricket or AFL stadiums). These combined with other reasons give the edge to england.
June 5, 2007 @ 8:39 am
Kasbah said:
2018 should be England. No matter how much FIFA dislike it, UEFA is the biggest confederation in world football. It would make no sense for the world cup to be kept away from the centre of world football for so long, just so that some other countries can host the world cup. this rotation policy will simply guarantee that the USA can host it every 24 years, whereas UEFA itself only gets the world cup once every 24 years. where is the fairness in that? who else in africa other than South Africa is capable of hosting a world cup? who else in the americas other than the USA at present is capable of hosting it? Canada is not a serious football nation, so a world cup going there would surprise me. in europe however you have england, france, germany, spain, italy, russia, and possibly netherlands, portugal who can host.
a simple 3 way rotation could suffice:
Europe (nations i suggested above)
America (USA, Brazil, maybe colombia or argentina could host?)
Africa/Asia (China, Japan, korea, australia, south africa)
That would provide a fair distribution across the world whilst also ensuring that the world cup isn’t kept away from the centre of football, europe, for too long.
and by 2018 it’s englands turn in europe anyway, all the other major nations (bar russia) have hosted it at least once since 1966
July 24, 2007 @ 2:55 am
harun said:
Well looking at the candidates, i think China and USA, the european nations are the ones that England should be looking out for as in my opinion i think they good ruin England chances.
However, England has got the potential and i do think if they had went with the new superstadium in Birmingham and other sities which had been planned, it would look superb.
If England does host the 2018 World Cup, i think it would look absolutely fantastic, with the newly built Wembley Stadium as the inside looks brilliant and 10 times better then the old one.
Therefore, if England wants to make its chances alot better i think they would have to do an amazing job when hosting London 2012, as it is the only way, but if Chicago wins the bid and hosts the 2016 olympics and do a good job in that it may ruin England chances.
I really want England to built the new superstadiums, especially in Birmingham as it looks old and similar to other stadiums in England and Europe, which has very little differences between them.
October 27, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
Mike said:
Let’s go through all the candidates to see.
Africa:
Nigeria- no brainer. Africa hosted in 2010 and only one acceptable stadium- Lagos
Asia:
China- great stadiums (worldstadiums.com) and would have lots of support. Promlems in Beijing though with gas, but has very good chance.
Europe:
Belgium-Holland- Hosted good Euro 2000, but FIFA no like joint bids.
England- Lots of good quality stadiums and football mad fans, 52 years since 1966. But, all good stadia clumped together (London,North West) and transport would have to be 100% better
Russia- Never hosted World Cup before. Maybe too far between venues, pitch in Moscow…
Spain- As good as stadiums as England and USA. Also, stadiums well spread out. But hosted World Cup in 1982. UEFA Would back England and Russia.
North America:
Canada- If rotation continues, Canada in with good shout. Not enough quality stadia for big event
Mexico- All ready proven to FIFA it can host World Cup. Azteca fantastic. Hosted TWICE since England last hosted so no
USA- FIFA would love to give it to America, 1994 best tournement for money and so on. Hosted in 1994 so not really fair.
Other:
Australia- Really good stadiums. Hosted Olympics and RWC recently. But most stadiums are for cricket, would need upgrading.
The three most likely choices are… Australia, England and Russia in my opinion. England to bat Australia. Just.
October 30, 2007 @ 5:44 pm
jonny said:
i think it would be great for english football if england got the chance to host a major footballing event the last one in 1966 that was ages ago its about time football comes home to ENGLAND !!!
October 30, 2007 @ 9:16 pm
Eurasia said:
Why would Australia have a good chance of getting the World Cup?
They have only 10 Stadiums good enough for the Competiton and they are Cricket or AFl Grounds.The Football grounds in Australia would all need to be expanded.
Australia has only really entered the International Footballing World by qualfiying for the 2006 World Cup. But one World Cup doesn’t mean that you can all of a sudden start hosting such a high profile events.
i really think that a country with a good footballing history and traditon can host it and the only place you can find a Country like that are in Europe. Russia ,Spain and England should be favorites.
these three country have had a top domestic league between 50-100 years ago.
Meanwhile Canada doesn’t have a league and has only one professional football team in the whole country, usa has had a league for about ten years but the quality of play is poor so they just bring European players who on the verge of retirement and for Australia have had a league for only three years which no one hardly knows about.
October 31, 2007 @ 2:06 am
Sean said:
hey guys,
football is the world game, therefore let it be taken to the world. i am sick of hearing the bureaucrats of europe arrogantly dismissing the chances and hopes of nations from afar. the fact that one has a national league that no one knows about is irrelevant, as is the fact that a particular nation (e.g. nigeria and australia) do not have enough dedicated football arenas at this stage. it is reasonable to assume that many whom hail from england, russia and spain; would expect further stadia to be built if their country was awarded hosting rights. it’s not about what the candidates have now…afterall london would not have won the olympic hosting rights if that were the case. it’s what the candidate has to offer, and whether that offer can be carried out. forgive me for being a partisan australian, but wembley stadium is one of many european arenas built by the australian company, multiplex, whom was also responsible to building numerous australian ones. the fact that australia’s national team has only recently been good enough to reach the world cup, does not mean a nation would not get behind a world cup bid. that’s a very dangerous assumption, which often motivates ‘underdog’ nations into action. arrogance is what eliminates the english team from world cups and european championships, the same could be said for the bidding process. i’m not going to discount anyone’s chances, though i will say that australians love beating the english…and the prospect of beating them again is even more reason to believe that we can win. no doubt about it, you guys have an awesome infrastructure…..just don’t be arrogant enough to discount the infrastructure of others… many thanks chaps
October 31, 2007 @ 9:04 am
Ian said:
I’ve been thinking about what an Australian bid might look like. The quality of Australia’s stadiums right now is irrelevant; they’d have to build new ones almost across the board. The real question is whether they have enough cities capable of hosting World Cup matches. I’d be reasonably confident in predicting that there would be three stadia between Sydney and Melbourne, plus one each for Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, and Canberra, and finally one more from Hobart, Newcastle or, least likely, Darwin. That would fit the criteria of at least nine stadiums in eight different cities, and I think all of these cities would be capable, with a bit of work, of hosting.
Sean, Multiplex can’t exactly hold their heads high over Wembley. It’s a great stadium, but Multiplex don’t get any credit for that. They didn’t design it, they built it, and they took forever doing so. Remember that an FA Cup Final had to be moved to Cardiff because Wembley wasn’t finished on time (which was the fault of Multiplex); it would be disastrous if a stadium wasn’t ready in time for a World Cup. That said, I agree with much of what you said. You’d have to be a fool to write off Australia.
I think the top three bids would probably be England, China and Australia (not necessarily in that order). England are obviously going to be strong, whereas China offers a much larger market than Australia. And if the 2008 Olympic Games go well, that will give huge momentum to a Chinese bid.
The great thing is that there should be some strong competition, which can only ensure that the winning bid will be a great one. Looking forward to it, wherever it’s held. But especially if it’s in England.
October 31, 2007 @ 8:23 pm
Craig said:
Be afraid if the US puts in a serious bid for 2018. If the World Cup were dropped into our laps for a start time of tomorrow, we’d be ready for it on all levels. All our large stadia (80,000+ capacity) are immediately ready (except for the stupid American Football lines on the pitch) and would fit within FIFA standards. Our infrastructure is already set up to welcome the assured influx of foreigners to our shores for the tournament.
Also, to save time on travel for matches, a planning committee needs to ensure that teams stay within one region of the country. That way the Irish won’t have to travel from Los Angeles to New York and back for their group games.
Otherwise, I guess England would be a nice choice to host.
November 2, 2007 @ 2:36 pm
Cris said:
I agree with what most people here are saying about England, China, Australia, Spain and the US being the primary contenders at this stage. However I think it would be very foolish to write off smaller nations such as Greece or Portugal, especially considering the fact that the UEFA Champions League 2007 final was held in Athens and that EURO 2004 was held in Portugal. Both of these events were extremly well supported by the respective countries and I think this could definatly help them if they decided to bid for the world cup. (I would be surprised if they didn’t) Also Portugal in particular can boast a 4th placed finish in the last world cup and an incredible three stadia rated 5-star by UEFA, with only Germsny and Spain having more.
Also it would be interesting to see if England consider a joint bid with Wales considering Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium would definately help their bid.
November 20, 2007 @ 1:26 pm
nik reece said:
I think,if everything goes to plan.Then this could be the hottest contested race ever,to who gets the 2018 World Cup.
There are quite a few countries who have a good enough case to hold such a event.
But for me?England,Australia,China,and proberly the U.S,are the most likely contenders for the tornament.
England however,must pull out all the stops to suceed where they failed last time.
And I’m sure the F.A,and the World Cup committee have learnt from the lessons of their last World Cup bid.
Also England can only seem to win,or get really close to winning a major championship finals by holding the event in their own country.
So Its important that england are sussessful this time around.
November 21, 2007 @ 5:40 pm
ECFCHARRIS said:
To be very honest, in my opinion, i really dont think Russia are good enough. One reason is that they only have 3 good stadiums, and 2 are in the same city.
My favourite would be England or Spain but i wnt England.
GOOD LUCK GAINST CROATIA TONIGHT BOYS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 27, 2007 @ 8:41 am
ben said:
Guys im sorry to say but it looks like australia to me right as
they have great transpot
good infrastruture
its never been held there
stadiums are expandable also you can change pitches
and its a majhor tourist attraction
also watch out for spain
December 20, 2007 @ 8:31 am
matt said:
australia r definitely a great country to host da world cup, they have the grounds, the transport and they are a country which has hosted some of the biggest sporting events in the world with great organisation. the country is also hungry to host this event as the popularity of football has risen in the country greatly just in the last 3 years, imagine how big a football nation australia will be in 2018. and imagine how great it would be to see the world cup final at the MCG with 100,000 people packed in at the stadium. and who cares about england, they cant even qualify for the euro and they want to host the world cup. give me a break. AUSTRALIA for 2018
January 9, 2008 @ 3:24 am
dennis of sydney said:
i’m not being biased, but Australia should host the 2018 world cup. it has been kept away from us for quite a while, european nations always seem to have a supiriority on it which annoys me. yes, i agree that soccer (football) is not as poular here as in some european/south american countries, but it’s quickly growing in popularity, and still is popular, just not in a fanatical way.
that aside, australia has shown that we can host world class events, and the world cup would be no exception. this really would bring the country together, just like every other great sporting tournament/event, especially the 2006 world cup, when we made it past the group stage.
in summary, australia deserves to host the 2018 world cup, we have waited long enough, and have shown we can do it.
February 22, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
Brian said:
Potential Australian Bid
Sydney Olympic Stadium 85,000 (current)
Sydney Football Stadium 45,000 (current)
Melbourne Dome 55,000 (current)
Melbourne MCG 100,000 (current)
Perth Subiaco 60,000 (new already approved)
Adelaide Bolynthon 45,000 (already being discussed)
Brisbane Suncorp 52,000 (current)
That leaves another 3 cities to upgrade to 40,000 stadiums which should be within easy reach by 2018 for Newcastle, Wollongong, Gold Casot, Townsville or Canberra all of which currently have 25,000 capacity football stadiums. Certainly not as impressive as what England, Spain or USA could do but I think stadium concern alone should not rule Australia out - but we are definately underdogs
February 23, 2008 @ 11:17 pm
jonnie said:
of course, australia should host the cup. it’s the best place in the world. We have the the 7th biggest stadium in the world. the MCG. it’s is 102,000 maximum, compared to Wembley’s cheap 90,000. We have stadiums in Melbourne: MCG 102,000, Telstra Dome 57,000, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium (under construction) 31,000 and can be expanded to 50,000, Skilled Stadium 28,000 (1 hour from Melbourne CBD), and other small oval stadiums around 20,000. Sydney: ANZ Stadium 84,000, Sydney Football Stadium 44,000, SCG 52,000 (under small construction) Central Coast Stadium 22,000 (90 mins from Sydney CBD) and other small oval stadiums around 20,000. Adelaide: AAMI Stadium 52,000, Bonython Stadium 45,000 (not being built yet), Hindmarsh Stadium 18,000. Perth: Subiaco Oval 45,000, Members Equity Stadium 21,000, New Stadium (un named and to be ready befor 2018 WC) 60,000. Brisbane/Gold Coast: Suncorp Stadium 53,000, The Gabba 44,000, Skilled Park 25,000. Tasmania: Aurora Stadium 23,000. All stadiums are world class and are perfect for WC IN AUSTRALIA. ENGLAND GO HOME AND CRY TO UR MUMMIES, COZ AUSTRALIA WILL GET 2018 WORLD CUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 28, 2008 @ 11:22 am
wahida begum said:
i think it should be in england, after so many years we deserve something..
February 29, 2008 @ 1:52 am
Tim from Sydney said:
Australia will easily get enough stadia. Our other infrastructure is also world class. We need probably about 10 stadia of 40k plus capacity. All below stadiums are rectangular unless otherwise mentioned.
Expanded Energy Australia Stadium, Canberra Stadium, Gold Coast Stadium, and North Queensland Stadium (all approx 25k capacity currently)
1) Melbourne Cricket Ground
- an oval ground which seats 100k
2) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
- was designed to allow expansion to 50k capacity
3) Sydney Olympic Stadium
- the 83k stadium, capacity could be increased to the 110k it held during the Olympics if necessary
4) Sydney Football Stadium
- 45k stadium, home of Sydney FC
5) Suncorp Stadium
- 53k capacity in Brisbane, best rectangular stadium in Australia
6) Bonython Stadium
-Proposed 45k stadium in Adelaide CBD
7) Kitchener Park Stadium
-Confirmed (but unnamed) 70k capacity stadium in Perth
9) New Hobart Stadium- 30k capacity with 10k temporary seating.
As for the A-League being only 3 years old, that is no problem either. Crowds have been increasing each year (approx 11k in season 1 to almost 15k in season 3) as has exposure through things like the World Club Championship and Asian Champions League. The league will be expanded next season to 10 teams. And you’ve all heard of the A-League now haven’t you!
The only problems are
-Europe hasn’t had a world cup for a while
-in terms of broadcasting the timeslot would not be ideal for most of the world
But on the other hand, a world cup in Australia would be the boost it needs to make football the second most popular code right accross Australia (eg, in NSW and QLD 2nd after Rugby League, in VIC, SA and WA 2nd after AFL)
March 7, 2008 @ 11:48 am
jason said:
say hello to makele his my cousin but he don’t know me only me my mum
March 13, 2008 @ 11:53 pm
Phil said:
Australia has announced that they will bid for the 2018 World Cup. The Football Federation Australia (FFA) has announced that they will do an audit on the current status of Australia’s ability to host the event.
The Federal and State Government are fully behind the bid.
This is a bit long but lets look at Australia’s chances of hosting the event.
STADIUMS
FIFA have stated that they would need at least 8 stadiums and a maximum of 10 stadiums of a minimum capacity of 40000 to host the event and that only one city could host two stadiums. Two Stadiums must be of 60000 capacity to host semi final games.
Currently in Australia the stadiums that could be used are:
Sydney - Sydney Olympic Stadium (83000 Capacity)
- Sydney Football Stadium (45000 Capacity)
Brisbane - Suncorp Stadium (53000 Capacity)
Perth - Perth Stadium (Proposed Stadium) (60000 Capacity)
Melbourne - Melbourne Cricket Ground (95000 Capacity)
- Docklands Stadium (55000 Capacity)
Adelaide - Bonython Park (Proposed Stadium) (45000 Capacity)
So if FIFA’s ruling that only one city may host two stadiums, Australia would only have 6 stadiums currently available. For an Australian Bid to succeed then both of Melbourne’s stadiums must be used. The Perth stadium looks set to be built but the Adelaide Stadium is not definite at this stage. If FIFA allowed 2 stadia in Melbourne, another Stadium would still be required. This would be most likely in Newcastle, but would require a substantial upgrade of Energy Australia Stadium.
The problem with the two Melbourne Stadiums is that they are ovals (Think Cricket Oval) primarily designed for Australian Football. These stadiums are not good to watch Football in, as the action is too far away from the stands. FIFA might not like these types of ovals to be used. The two Sydney stadiums, Brisbane, Proposed Adelaide, Proposed Perth and Newcastle would all be played on rectangular pitches.
HOSTING ABILITY/ INFRASTRUCTURE
Australia has also enjoyed success hosting other major sporting events recently, with the 2000 Olympic games held in Sydney , the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne. I wouldn’t imagine that they would have trouble hosting this tournament either.
Australia is a modern advanced country with all infrastructure in place. There would be little need to upgrade existing airports roads or rail needed to support the event.
LOCAL LEAGUE/FANS
Australia is not renowned as a Football loving country. For many years the sport here received little support from mainstream Australians and was predominantly watched by ethnic minorities. However since Australia qualified for the World Cup in 2006, there has been a huge upswing in support for the National Team and the Domestic Football League (A-League).
The National team now plays in front of very large crowds and the A-league has been a success in the three years it has been operating. Football is the most widely played junior sport in Australia and by 2018 would surely be more popular than it is now. Australians also enjoy watching leagues from Europe in particular the EPL.
Australians are also “big event” watches. Even those not particularly interested in Football would watch games (Much like the Americans in 1994). However as Australia is geographically isolated I wonder how many International visitors would come to Australia in winter.
DATE and WEATHER and TELEVISION
Weather
The World Cup is usually held in June, give or take a few days. Therefore the event would be held at the start of winter here in Australia. As the games would most likely be played at night, temperatures would be on the cool side but not overly cold. Players would enjoy playing in such temperatures, as it would take less of a physical toll on them.
Television
Due to the time zones (much like Japan/Korea in 2002) games would be held at night to cater for European audiences. However with Asia becoming the huge market that it is, the games will be played in prime-time and would generate a huge amount of potential for advertising in this rapidly expanding market.
Date
The biggest problem with the timing of the world cup is that it would require the Australian Football League (AFL) and Rugby League (the two biggest domestic leagues in Australia) to postpone their competitions for up to 6 weeks so that the stadiums would be used. However politicians have said that the event is a National one and must be supported by everyone. But expect some disagreements with these codes.
CONCLUSION
Being an Australian, there would be nothing better than hosting the World Cup here in 2018. Australia would undoubtedly host a terrific tournament. However, the likely hood in 2018 would be remote I would think.
I think this bid is to really to test the waters for a future bid in 2022 or 2026. Australia will learn in this bid the nature of Football Politics and that will help in later bids.
Under current FIFA guidelines, if England would win the 2018 bid then Europe or South America could not host the 2022 World Cup and Europe also could not host the 2026 World Cup, making a World Cup hosted in Asia in 2022 or 2026 a near certainty.
I believe Australia should aim to host the 2015 ASIAN Cup first so it can show to FIFA that it is capable of hosting a Football event and then bid for the 2022 World Cup if a European country wins the rights to host the 2018 one.
March 14, 2008 @ 11:41 am
Mathew said:
Unfortunately so many AFL/Cricket ovals disrupts our (Australia’s bid). 1-2 is allright but anymore will be detrimental. So MCG and perths 60k seater would probably get in but the rest would have to be rectangular.
March 27, 2008 @ 4:15 am
JG said:
I support NETHERLANDS alone or co-hosted by Belgium (benelux)
Mexico had organized it twice
Spain once
England
China had a lot of problems with human rights, Tibet, Taiwan, etc
Russia is similar to China
Australia could be an option but not in 2018, maybe 2022 or later
The Holland/ Belgium 2000 european championship is considered until date, the best euro cup tournament ever organized. So that, FIFA must consider the decision.
April 12, 2008 @ 4:57 pm
Jtiko said:
Well, I think there are just 3 important bids. England, Australia and Mexico. If we look at the new rotation system that only the last two World Cup host confederations be ineligible, then have to go CONCACAF, AFC, UEFA are the best and those countries are perfect.
June 16, 2008 @ 11:57 am
Giacomo said:
The bid isn’t only spain, its spain and portugal. and its beneluz notm only belgium and holland. I think israel/palestine should get it. its to promote peace, not money. However, I think Spain/Portugal will get it or Benelux because their bids are much more convincing and because Spain/Portugal have five 5-star UEFA stadiums. And also Spain/Portugal have not hosted neither have Benelux (Spain have alone) and England have.
June 17, 2008 @ 3:40 am
Pieter said:
Israel/Palestine is also in, apparantly. While perhaps not having the best venues in the world, there is definately something to be said for the political statement that would be made with having the world cup played in Israel and Palestine. I would definately support such a bid!
July 7, 2008 @ 5:53 pm
Stevo said:
wheres iraq in that lot they shud av it lol
August 27, 2008 @ 12:35 pm
Nick said:
Well let see if my preduction are correct.
2006 was Germany (Europe)
2010 was South Africa (Africa)
2014 was Brazil (South Afmerica)
Now the actual question will be will FIFA alow 16 years go buy before a world cup to be stadge in Europe again in 2022? I DONT THINK so. My hart woul like to see the world cup in 2018 go to Oceiana well I am not a major Australian fan being South African and all but would like to Australia host the next world cup or not.
Only time will tell.
Lets see what my brain is telling me.
EUROPE will defintley be hosting the world cup in 2018 make no mistacke about that.
So which country will be hosting acording to my predictions.
My number one bid will be.
1. England
2. Spain / Protugal
3. Netherland / Belguim
4. Russia
If Europe does not get the vote in 2018 then for sure AUSTRALIA will be hosting the next world cup in 2018