Poll: Who Do You Want to Host World Cup 2018/2022?

Despite the allure of Australia, England and the United States, two Anglophone World Cups in the row just feels so… blah.

I think this is still on topic; I wonder if London hosting the 2012 Olympics helps or hurts England’s bid in any way.

It didn’t hurt the U.S. with the IOC… The U.S.A. had 1994 WC and 1996 Atlanta game.

Doubt they are connected. In the end, it’s important to realize that, after passing through the filter of possibility (i.e. would this country even be able to do it?), the hosting rights come down to “football politics.”

If it goes to Japan or South Korea – last held in 2002 – ahead of England (1966), I am personally hunting down Sepp Blatter and slapping him.

I imagine it will go back to Europe in 2018 after being in Africa & then South America. Australia has a fair shot at 2022 but who knows where the sport will be in a decade.

Spain & Portugal for 2018 (wishful thinking)
Australia for 2022

and once again no Canada.

Please not the USA. Either Spain or Indonesia/ Australia for something unique…

Though I’m up for Australia, I really can’t do the time difference to watch the games. So I going with the US or England

WC 2018 – Australia

WC 2022 – Spain & Portugal

I’m surprised not many people say Russia. At the rate the Russian league is growing, and with the number of quality players from Eastern Europe making big impressions, I would not be surprised at all to see Russia do the trick. I could see Australia 2018, because they’ve been banging on the door for so long, then Russia could do great in 2022.

Egypt didn’t bid from the beginning!!!

My guess is that England will host 2018 and the U.S will host 2022. It hasn’t been in CONCACAF since ‘94 and was just in the AFC in 2002 that nullifies the U.S. just had it argument, because well AFC just had it too and Australia is a part of that confederation. But 2026 will most likely go to the confederation that doesn’t get awarded the 2018 and 2022 bids, because of lack of competition because Africa and South America won’t have strong candidates. My prediction is that Australia will get 2026. And you’ll see the non-European bids focus more on 2022.

As a Belgian, I think Belgium and the Netherlands should get it. These two countries did a perfect job in 2000, and now they can show the world that even two little countries can organise a World Cup. Belgium and the Netherlands are two founding members of the FIFA, they both have a great football history. If these countries succeed, it would be a great example for many other little countries, so that they can also try to host the World Cup in the future.

It would be a shame if the FIFA rejects this candidacy just because it’s a joint bid, like Sepp Blatter stated. Indeed, the first joint bid -South Korea and Japan- had many troubles, but FIFA should known that these two countries share nothing and that FIFA forced them to work together. Belgium and the Netherlands have much more in common: they speak the same language, they use the same currency, its governments are used to colaborate, they even have no borders!

Pseudinho, I’ll play your crazy game and speculate on the future bids.

2018: UEFA, it’s been too long since a European WC
2022: CONCACAF, it’s gone the longest without hosting of any federation, excluding OFC
2026: AFC! No UEFA or CONCACAF bids (eliminating most developed countries) making this large confederation the favorite to take it. That and CONMEBOL won’t be bidding because…
2030: CONMEBOL, to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the World Cup, everyone will love the idea of bringing it back to South America, where it all started.

That’s how it’s going to go down, barring alien invasions, nuclear holocausts, or global warming catastrophes.

Hi Jose, isn’t Germany part of UEFA?

I hope that usa gets to host the 2018 world cup it would be amazing to go see any of those games..In 94 i went to one game between italy and mexico and what a match now imagine being able to relive that moment

Yeah Johnny, Germany is in Europe. It’s in Central Europe actually.

To really answer: UEFA works on a whole other curve when it comes to hosting. Remember, this is the football-crazy, well-developed continent that is still used to hosting every other Cup.

Hi Jose again :)

Understood, and I appreciate your delicate fashion. I’ve never realized that every other WC (since 1938) has resumed again within European nations.

It seems a tough tradition to crack.

We’ll probably be the first country to drop out of the running, but what the heck – Indonesia.

I don’t like Sepp Blatter shooting down joint bids at the first hurdle. I would like to see Belgium/Netherlands get it. You should really judge joint bids on a case by case basis and I see nothing speaking against the one by Belgium and the Netherlands. If you shoot down bids like that, smaller countries will never get to host a World Cup and we’ll be just handing over the thing back and forth between the Top 10 GDP nations in the world.

Belgium and Holland hosting the WC would mean a huge boost for both competitions, something they really need. But on the other hand: aside from De Kuip, Arena, Phillips Stadion and Heysel, there aren’t any big stadiums. And face it, building a new 30.000+ temple in Ghent, Antwerp or Groningen would be a huge waste of money, as these teams never attract more than 15.000.

Remember what happened with half of the mexican stadiums after ‘86?

No more Korea… We all faced the mess on 2002.
Japan was fine.

All the stadiums have to be minimum 40K. With the opening match and final being in two different stadiums over 80K.

England has Wembley and Twickingham both over 80K with Old Trafford around 76K.

U.S. would have almost all there stadiums be over 60K with several over 80K.

Australia would have only a handful of stadiums over 40K, but they do have a couple stadiums that are over 80K. They’d have to construct 4-6 new stadiums. In this economy, may not be the most feasible thing to do. Although, those stadiums get tremendous usage during June and July because of the AFL.

While the U.S. stadiums would not be in use and neither would England during those months on a regular basis. The NFL season runs from September – January. The most established and experienced hosts a thing have an edge up for 2018 and 2022. Especially since FIFA is making this decision by the end of next year. And considering the fact that two nations who have to do major reconstruction and improvements were selected as hosts in 2010 and 2014.

Does anyone know how does FIFA decide the venues? We can speculate all we want…

FIFA does not select the venues. The association of the country that won the bid selects the venues. Then FIFA approves or doesn’t approve the venue selection.

To answer the ultimate question, the decision basically comes down to 24 guys. Yep, it’s basically these 24 FIFA poobahs that decide which country holds the grandest single-sport event in the world.

Which really brings up the central tenet of this topic should be discussed: we can argue back and forth about the merits of each respective bids (”Australia has crazy time zones; England ‘deserves’ it on tradition”), but these bids won’t be selected purely on merit but rather on the political machinations of each bidder with these 24 old men.

This BBC blog does a great job of actually analyzing how the bids will be selected, focusing on what England’s strategy should be:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/mihirbose/2009/01/england_set_for_tough_2018_bat.html

Btw, a list of the FIFA Executive Committee here:
http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/bodies/exco.html

And yes, I am overly interested in this process. Even though this is all at least 10 years away from now, and, as a college student, I have no idea what I’ll be doing by the time these events roll around.. haha. But this is interesting stuff!

Pseudinho: Australia has nine stadiums over 40k, and another 20 over 20k that could be upgraded. I doubt we’ll build any new stadiums.

I really hope Australia gets it. Football has made massive leaps forward down here over the past few years and hosting the world cup would be exactly what we need right now. It would also be great for South East Asia and China.

Tom – Can you name those stadiums and give me an approximate capacity for each?

US all the way might get to catch agame live!

Okay, I’m taking a step back and really looking at the bids a little closer. I want to take the bias out of it and really look at the quality of the bids. The following is a list of compiled stadiums that seem to be the favorites which are Australia, England, and the United States. The following are all stadiums all over 40K which is a FIFA requirement. I will also put an asterisk next to the second stadiums from second and third cities. Only one city may have two venues. Reasons why I didn’t include Portugal/Spain and Belgium/Netherlands is because they are joint bids which are not allowed under FIFA rules unless there is a country that cannot host the tournament by itself. I also didn’t include Korea or Japan, because we preyty much know most of their stadiums from the 2002 World Cup and in each of those bid their may be 1 or 2 more, but no stadiums are currently under construction in those countries that are likely to host WC matches.

Australia
- Sydney (ANZ Stadium) 83,500
- Sydney (Sydney Football Stadium) 45,500 *
- Brisbane (Suncorp Stadium) 52,579
- Brisbane (Queensland Center or The Gabba) 42-48K *
- Adelaide (AAMI Stadium) 51,515
- Melbourne (Melbourne Cricket Ground) 100,000
- Melbourne (Docklands Stadium) 56,347 *
- Perth (Subiaco Oval) 42,922

* Of the cities with asterisks only one of those * venues may be used to adhere to the FIFA 2 venue in 1 city rule. That puts Australia with 6 World Cup venues. They’d onlyhave to construct 4 more or upgrade 4 previous stadiums that already exist. That aren’t in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, or Adelaide.

England
- London (Wembley Stadium) 90,000
- London (Twickenham Stadium) 82,000 *
- London (Emirates Stadium) 60,000 *
- London (Stamford Bridge) 42,449 *
- Newcastle (St. James Park) 52,143
- Sunderland (Stadium of Light) 49,000
- Manchester (Old Trafford) 76,098
- Manchester (City of Manchester Stadium) 48,000 *
- Liverpool (Anfield or New Anfield #) 45-60K
- Liverpool (Goodison Park) 40,200 *
- Birmingham (Villa Park) 43,275
- Leeds (Elland Road) 40,204
- Sheffield (Hillsborough) 39,859 @

# With The New Anfield I have reservations on if it will actually get built with the financial trouble that Liverpool FC is going through.

@ I’m sure some how Sheffield can increase capacity by 141 to become eligible to host WC matches.

* Of the venues with an asterisk only one can be selected to adhere to the two venues in one city rule. I’d imagine it would also come from London. That leaves England with 9 venues which is enough to host, but I’d imagine there may be 1 or 2 venues that aren’t currently under construction that may be built in a city that already doesn’t have a venue that would host World Cup matches.

United States
- Landover, Maryland (FedEx Field) 91,704
- East Rutherford, New Jersey (Giants Stadium) 80, 242
- Arlington, Texas (Cowboys New Stadium) 80,000
- Denver, Colorado (Invesco Field) 76,125
- Miami Gardens, Florida (Dolphins Stadium) 76,101
- Charlotte, North Carolina (Bank of Americas Stadium) 73,298
- Cleveland, Ohio (Cleveland Browns Stadium) 73,200
- San Diego, California (Qualcomm Stadium) 71,294
- Houston, Texas (Reliant Stadium) 71,500
- Nashville, Tennessee (LP Field) 68,798
- Foxborough, Massachusetts (Gillette Stadium) 68,856
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Lincoln Financial Field) 68,532
- Jacksonville, Florida (Municipal Stadium) 84,000
- Seattle, Washington (Qwest Field) 67,000
- Tampa, Florida (Raymond James Stadium) 75,000
- Glendale, Arizona (U. of Phoenix Stadium) 63,400
- Oakland, California (O-A County Coliseum) 63,026
- Chicago, Illinois (Soldier Field) 61,500
> The following are dome stadiums that have been rumored to help Chicago in 2016 with hosting soccer matches in the olympics.
- Detroit, Michigan (Ford Field) 65,000
- Indianapolis, Indiana (Lucas Oil Stadium) 63,000
- St. Louis, Missouri (Edward Jones Dome) 66,000
> The following are planned NFL stadiums that would have a decent shot at hosting some matches. Several stadiums like New Vikings Stadium, New 49ers Stadium, New Chargers Stadium, and New Los Angeles Stadium I did not include because they aren’t currently under construction.
- East Rutherford, New Jersey (Meadowlands Stadium) 82,500 = would likely be used over Giants Stadium
> The following are college stadiums that would have a decent shot at hosting games.
- Pasadena, California (Rose Bowl) 92,542
- East Hartford, Connecticut (Rentschler Field) 40,000
- Orlando, Florida (Florida Citrus Bowl) 70,188
- Salt Lake City, Utah (Rice-Eccles Stadium) 46,500

I think Russia is a dark horse, but currently only have one stadium over the minimum 40K capacity which is Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow which has a capacity of 84,745, but in St. Petersburg Zenit Stadium is almost finished with construction and that has a capacity of 62,167. The Russians would have to build 7-10 new stadiums to be able to stage the event.

Ahhhh, what the heck I’ll include Mexico’s stadium list just for the heck of it.

Mexico
- Mexico City (Estadio Azteca) 105,064
- Mexico City (Olimpico Universitario) 72,449 *
- Queretaro (Estadio La Corregidora) 50,000
- Puebla (Estadio Cuahutehmoc) 42,649
- Veracruz (Estadio Luis Pirata Fuente) 43,154
- Monterrey (New Monterrey Football Arena) ??????
- Monterrey (Estadio Universitario) 45,000 *
- Guadalajara (Estadio Chivas) 45,500
- Guadalajara (Estadio Jalisco) 63,163 *
- Ciudad Juarez (Arena Indios) 40,000
- Morelia (Estadio Morelos) 45,690
- San Nicolás de los Garza (Estadio Universitaro) 41,000

There are plans to build a new stadium in Monterrey, but I’m pretty sure a lot of that hinges on whether or not Mexico gets hosting duties again. Mexico is currently constructing 13 new stadiums or at least is renovating them, but not all are over 40K. Mexico has about 10 viable venues they could use.

FIFA need to impose a 30 year rule. Once you have hosted a world cup, you can not host another one for at least 30 years. The reason: it is the WORLD cup and needs to be spread and shared around the world. There are some sections of this planet that have been left behind by fifa, so lets share the love! So I am sorry Korea, Japan and the US.

That’s a stupid rule proposal.

Stupid because you have analysed the suggestion from an unbiased view and come to a reasoned conclusion. Or stupid because you want the World Cup back in the US as soon as possible??

Stupid because 30 years is way too long.

Thank you Jose. The ban should be 16 years as was the gap when Mexico hosted for the second time.

Now that sound reasonable. There’s already an 8 year ban, just double that for the specific country that hosted it.

Indonesia, Australia, or Spain Portugal. Please no USA.

we trust… we can….

Pseudinho you’re forgetting that countries like that Aussie Football stadiums are oval and American Football are too small compared to FA stadiums so there’s going to have to be some major changes is either australia or the US want to host

Indonesia No chance of hosting considering the other AFC bids
Benelux No Chance Blatter not liking joint host.
South Korea No Chance too much controversy over the 2002 one
Spain & Portugal No Chance same reason as Benelux

Australia either 18 or 22 since FIFA wants to tap into that market.
England either 18 or 22 citing tradition and have the best stadiums out of any other bidder
Mexico either 18 or 22 they haven’t hosted since 86 have a great football fan base oka infrastructure good Soccer stadiums and they’re poised to be the first country to host 3 times
Qatar either 18 or 22 if they can get enough stadiums.
USA either 18 or 22 good infrastructure, can upgrade several stadiums fast and great marketing place.

Japan only 22 considering they’ve just co-hosted the 02 one
Russia only 22 since it would take them a lot of resources and time to build or upgrade new stadiums

guys this is 9 to 13 years from now so the economy should get better.

I’m not forgetting anything. I was just simply putting out potential venues for World Cups. Obviously some things will need to be changed in every country to host. Even a historic stadium like Old Trafford has to get more room for warm up and surface area, because most of England’s stadiums and especially Old Trafford are very intimate like the NFL stadiums will seats close to the playing area.

Of all these potential hosts, USA is the most capable of holding the event next week if asked to do so. That has to count for something.

The Aussies are simply not interested in Football !

I think Sepp Blatter could have learnt an awful lot this evening about the seriousness of the Aussies interest in Football (or Soccer as they call it) and their bid for the World Cup, if he had spent an evening with myself and my Father-in-law (both keen Sports and Football fans) and the hoarde of Aussie “Soccer” fans (approx. 10 of them) at the local RSL club (a bit like the local working mans club) watching Australia play Japan in a World Cup Qualifier.

Just as the game was getting interesting (i.e. there may have been a chance of a goal or sending off) the management that run the RSL club turned the TV off with 25 minutes to go and asked everyone to leave the premises as the club was closing ! Can you believe that ? If that were to happen in Spain, Italy, Germany, Scotland, England, Brazil, Nigeria, in fact anywhere where there was the slightest bit of interest in the ‘Beautiful game’, what do you think would have happened ? No, silly question, little imagination is required. If it’s not Cricket or Rugby League (sorry Aussies, “Footy”) then its simply not worth watching Down Under as far as the locals are concerned.

Do yourself a favour Sepp, stop trying to be everyones “mate” mate and stick with the grass roots of the game and bring it home in 2018 !

indonesia best of the best,bali also to host world cup ….
bravo indonesia.
road to green world cup !!!!

Mike B, are you serious? Your evidence is based on ten people at an RSL? Was there anyone at the RSL under 65? The Returned Servicemen’s League is not exactly a representative sample of modern Australia.

Pseudinho puts his finger on the problem Australia will have in hosting a world cup, which is FIFA rules regarding stadia in cities. Australia needs nine separate cities to host matches, but most of our sporting infrastructure is focussed in the five major cities.

Stadia in the Gold Coast and Newcastle could be upgraded to 40k without too many problems. The other two would be out of Canberra, Townsville, Geelong, Wollongong, the Sunshine Coast or Hobart. The problem is that none of these cities are really big enough to justify venues of that size.

Australia could certainly accomodate the world cup, but it would definitely help out if FIFA were to allow Melbourne or Sydney, which both have several suitable venues, to take on a bit more of the load.

Australia can host the World Cup without a problem. Like the other guy said, put the load on Melbourne, Sydney and I think even Brisbane, the whole east coast of Australia

(Melb) – Docklands Stadium is 56 thousand
(Melb) – Melbourne Cricket Ground is 100 thousand
(Syd) – ANZ Stadium is 83 thouand
(Bris) – Suncorp Stadium – 52 thousand
(Melb) – Rectangular Stadium been designed to be upgradable to 50 thousand
(Syd) – Sydney Football Stadium is 45 thousand
(Bris) – The Gabba is 42 thousand

And It’s not like they can’t upgrade a few more to forty thousand.

Go Indonesia!!

I m indonesian , but i m not sure and i don’t really hope Indonesia be the WC host. Too complicated, too much problem, and too little international-qualified stadium.
I vote for Aussie..

bravo indonesia…. go green worldcup 2022,

I vote Indonesia and Aussie
Go Indonesia ^^

There are many reason to vote Indonesia as WC host
1. This is will be first time for muslim countries to conducted world cup and it will be advence in religious tolerance, and don’t worry about it because religious tolerance is triteness for indonesian
2. If indonesia conducted world cup 2018/2022, indonesia have more than 10 International stadium,majority “NEW” stadium, and the most interesting our stadium is football and olympic stadium, not Cricket or American football and i think it will be more suitable to carry out the real “football”.
3. If the reasons just the infrastructure it’s to simple to be the WC host,
but we have more, that is green World Cup, We will conducted World Cup with technology which friendly with our planet,
“THE GREEN WORLD CUP at THE GREEN COUNTRY”
“BRAVO INDONESIA……..”

Here is the list of potential city/stadium to host the matches of FIFA World Cup:

1. Gelora Bung Karno Senayan, Jakarta

Bung Karno Stadium (formerly Gelora Senayan or Istora) is a multi-use stadium in Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Construction began on the stadium in 1960 and finished in 1962 in time to host the fourth Asian Games held in Jakarta in 1962. The stadium’s original capacity of 100,800 people was reduced to 88,000 as a result of renovations for the 2007 Asian Cup. The stadium projected to host 2018-2022 FIFA World Cup.

Sport Event:

* Host for the 1962 Asian Games (1962)
* Host for SEA Games (1979, 1987 and 1997)
* Joint Host for the 2002 Tiger Cup with Singapore
* Host for the ASEAN Club Championship 2003
* Host for the 2004 Tiger Cup first leg Semifinal
* Host for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup for Group D matches, the Quarter Final and the Final

2. Palaran Stadium, Samarinda

Palaran Stadium is a multi-use all-seater stadium in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. It opened in 2008 and has a seating capacity of 60,000. It is used by Persisam, a local football team. The stadium was the main venue for the 2008 National Games and projected to host 2018-2022 FIFA World Cup.

3. Gelora Srivijaya Jakabaring, Palembang

Jakabaring Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Palembang, South Sumatra Indonesia. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 55,000 people. It was built in 2004. The stadium was the main venue for the 2004 National Games and projected to host 2018-2022 FIFA World Cup.

Sport Event:
* 2005 AFF Asean Cup U-20 (2005)
* 2007 AFC Asian Cup for Group D Match, Third Place Play-Off
* 2004 National Games

4. Jalak Harupat Stadium

Jalak Harupat Soreang Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. It is currently used mostly for football matches. Now it’s the home stadium of Persikab – Kabupaten Bandung and Pelita Jaya Purwakarta The stadium holds 40,000 people.

5. Rumbai Stadium, Pekanbaru

Stadium will be a multi-use stadium in Pekanbaru, Riau, Indonesia. The stadium will holds 70,000 people. It still building and will finish in 2010. The stadium will be the main venue for the 2012 National Games and projected to host 2018-2022 FIFA World Cup.

6. Gedebage Stadium, Bandung

Gedebage Stadium will be a multi-use stadium in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. The stadium will holds 70,000 people. It still building and will finish in 2010. The stadium will be the main venue for the 2011 South East Asian Games and projected to host 2018-2022 FIFA World Cup. It will be the home base for Persib Bandung.

7. Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya

Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium will be a multi-use stadium in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. The stadium will holds 60,000 people. It still building and will finish in 2010. The stadium will be the home base for Persebaya Surabaya and projected to host 2018-2022 FIFA World Cup.

8. Tenggarong Stadium

Tenggarong Stadium will be a multi-use stadium in Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The stadium will holds 60,000 people. It still building and will finish in 2010. The stadium projected to host 2018-2022 FIFA World Cup.

More stadium will be build in Indonesia due to will be a lot of sport event will be held in Indonesia such as 2011 South East Asian Games (Bandung, West Java and Semarang, Central Java), 2013 Islamic Solidarity Games (Serang, Banten), 2016 National Games (Makassar, South Sulawesi or Medan, North Sumatra), and 2020 National Games (Bandar Lampung, Lampung or Serang, Banten). Indonesia also plan to bid the host of 2018 Asian Games beside 2018-2022 FIFA World Cup. If the bidding process succes it will be more and more stadium build in Indonesia, especially in Batam as the most developing city in Indonesia and projected to be a little Singapore and also in Bali as the central of tourism industry in Indonesia.

No question, Indonesia will meet the requirement to host the 2018 – 2022 FIFA World Cup.