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.
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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
haha it should be in INDIA. Yeh Baby
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
what about usa?
Canada, China and Oz must be the favourites as they havent had it before. Also, Russia might bid I have heard.
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.
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
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.
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.
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 !!!
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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
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
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.
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
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i think it should be in england, after so many years we deserve something..
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)
say hello to makele his my cousin but he don’t know me only me my mum
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
wheres iraq in that lot they shud av it lol
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
If England doesn’t get it this time and a new 12 year cycle is generated for the Continent that will mean it will be 2030, the centinary of the World Cup before the next chance comes up. That has a nice ring to it but ridiculous for England to have to wait so long.
It would be lovely to have the world cup in Australia 2018, we are definitely ready to host the cup. In my home city alone we have the MCG 95,000+ Telstra Dome 55,000+ and soon to be finished rectangular stadium (2010). which will hold around 31,000 once completed (the reason such a small number is because Telstra Dome have a deal that no stadium bigger than that can be built anytime before 2010 with the local government) They plan to renovate it to make the capacity 50,000+.
But lets be honest 2018 is quite a while away, a lot can happen in that time that might change the entire outcome. If Australia don’t get it, I would like to see spain have another crack at hosting the great event. England are hosting the next olympics I believe, so I feel that might contribute to the decision in the end that another country needs to be in the spotlight for a worldwide event. Good-luck to all the countries bidding whomever wins i’m sure we will be treated to a great tournament,
Attending a wc is about so much more than just watching games. 2006 was an experience of a lifetime with a transformational power like no other event I have been to. I think everybody who attended 2006 will always remember it.
When I think of what places could recreate that experience then Brazil, England and Australia come to my mind first. I will be in Brazil in 2014 and I sincerely hope England & Australia will be the places for 2018 & 2022.
And how about the other places ?
The US: Being German living in the US I have been to the ‘94 wc in the US (and every other world cup since 1982 too). I liked the ‘94 wc here at the time because it was easy to attend, quite affordable and I could see more games than in any other wc. There was such a great spirit of welcome everywhere that every country could feel like having home games . But aside from the games it was rather boring. While there is a lot of entusiasm for football in the US it is pretty hard for such a large country to recreate the intimate carnival atmosphere of Korea or Germany where the wc dominated public life for an entire month. There is so much else going on here and besides, it would be unthinkable having millions of people partying in the streets all night in the US. We don’t have much of a party culture outside maybe New Orleans and Miami and the visitors would just be mostly by themselves.
But since it is the most attractive financially FIFA will push it as soon as possible.
However: will we have 2 (or even 3) English speaking countries hosting the wc in a row?
China: I have just been to the Olympics in Beijing which were organized amazingly well. Otherwise the experience was a bit comparable to the wc in the US. This is also not a financially attractive option for FIFA. Olympics tickets were very cheap for locals (compared to previous WCs) and the time zone will discount TV revenues.
Mexico: the most charming wc I have been to. It was as pervasive as in Germany and it had some all-time great games, supported by the higher altitude. Although it is a huge country most games were in close proximity, quite similar to ZA 2010 where half of the games will be in or within easy reach from Jo’burg. Too sad their interior situation would not support a bid at this time.
Spain/Portugal: most serious competitor for 2018. If they don’t make it they will have the strongest bid for the next wc in Europe.
Russia: The longest shot. A sussessful Euro in Poland/Ukraine could give it some momentum for 2026/2030
My forecast (a bit tainted with what I would like most)
2014: Brasil
2018: England
2022: USA & Canada
2026: Spain & Portugal
2030: Australia
2034: Argentina & ?
2038: Russia & Ukraine
2042: China
2046: Scandinavia
2050: USA
Football’s coming home! I think England have every right to host the World Cup in 2018. Look at the other bidding countries;
HOLLAND/BELGIUM – Had the european championships in 2000, have they got the stadiums?
AUSTRALIA – Although they are ready with the stadiums and money, not enough atmosphere would be generated with it being a huge country, and other major sporting events would be happening near the time.
SPAIN – Englands closest competitor, however, they hosted the World Cup back in ‘82
USA – ‘The Soccer World Cup!’ Not enough atmosphere, had it in 1994
CHINA – Problems with human rights, do the government have the money to build so many new stadiums?
These are my reasons for the home of football to be hosting the world cup in less than 10 years time. Come on England ?
HOLLAND/BELGIUM or SPAIN are the only ones who could make anywere as near good atmosphere as england but with the european championships in 2000 and world cup 1982 Its englands time
I think Spain/Portugal is the strongest bid to 2018 wc. The opening match in Lisbon and the final in Madrid. The news was in december ‘08 when the president of RFEF Villar and the president portuguease league talked about it. They decided to presente the oficcial bid in January or February of 2009.
Spanish Stadiums
Santiago Bernabeu (Madrid): 90.000
Nou Camp (Barcelona): 105.000
Nou Mestalla (Valencia): 75.000
Sanchez Pijuan (Sevilla): 75.000
Madrid 2016 Olimpic Stadium (Madrid): 75.000
La Catedral (Bilbao): 55.000
La Romareda (Zaragoza): 45.000
La Rosaleda (Málaga): 45.000
Portuguease Stadiums
Da Luz (Lisbon): 65.000
Jose Alvalade (Lisbon): 55.000
O Dragao (Porto): 45.000
Algarve or Braga: 35.000
Either 2018 or 2022 will be here in America… that’s pretty much a guarantee. No other nation can match the stadia we have in terms of modernness and capacity. The one drawback though would be travel if teams have to go from say New York to Seattle.
England though, as the birthplace of football, rightfully deserves whichever World Cup the USA doesn’t get… probably 2018 to England and 2022 to the USA.
England would be better off co-hosting with Wales, then we would have an even better set of stadia.
Wembley – 90,000
Old Trafford – 76,000
The Emirates – 60,000
St James’ Park – 52,000 (expand to 60,000)
Stanley Park – 62,000
New Portsmouth Stadium – 40,000
Villa Park – 42,000 (expand to 50,000)
The Stadium of Light – 48,000 (expand to 50,000)
The Millenium Staium – 74,000
The Liberty Stadium – 27,000 (expand to 40,000)
I doubt it will happen, but England should be the hosts anyway. We invented the game and it is a travesty that we haven’t hosted the World Cup for so long.
Be quiet england. Let ARGENTINA host it because that’s where the god of football lives!!
The HAND OF GOD might live in Argentina, but his heart beats in England.
Football is not football without teams like arsenal chelsea man unt man city liverpool
Reading each and everyone comment, i came to final decision if i was the member of Fifa i would love to give my vote to the land downunder i.e AUSTRALIA … coz they deserve it, although even other countries are good contender.Australia is ready now they have each and every thing what`s required,good crowd, infrastracture and the most important thing that`s sport loving crowd, just imagine melbourne or sydney hosting grand final in front of 103,000 and 83,000 crowd respectively, its incredible.
Surely Australia in doubt of winning 2018 bid…. go aussie… oie oie oie