2018 England

A stadium that might catch the attention of the FA should England host the 2018 World Cup would be Stamford Bridge. It is owned by Chelsea FC and has a capacity of 42055 supporters, this makes it the eighth largest stadium in the Premier League.

Built in 1876 and opened in 1877, this stadium was renovated under the Ken Bates era (1990s), where hotels, bars, apartments, restaurants and a megastore were added to the stadium. The owners had hoped that this would bring extra revenue to the club and cover the expenses of Chelsea FC. However, financing them was becoming a major weight on the club. After Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took over the club in 2003, plans for these facilities to be a major contributor to revenue were scrapped, and more focus was put on Chelsea mainly as a football club, rather than as a brand.

There are plans and proposals to increase the capacity of this stadium to 55000 seats, which would suit better the growing fan base and the ambitions of the club. However, the location of the stadium created some difficulties in implementing these proposals, due to the heavily built-up area where the stadium is situated. Although Abramovich’s preferred option would be to have the World Cup hosted by his home country Russia, he wouldn’t say no to have some World Cup games played at his club’s stadium.

With FIFA’s current maximum of two stadia in a city for a world cup host bid, Stamford Bridge would face stiff competition from other London based grounds for the second spot behind Wembley in any English bid.