Miriam Sherlock and Matthew Glendinning introduce the 13 runners and riders for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups.
In March, FIFA announced that 13 bids had been put forward for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. For both Cups, FIFA registered bids from Australia, Belgium/Holland, England, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Spain/Portugal and the United States, while South Korea and Qatar submitted bids exclusively for 2022.
Having given up on the ‘rotation system’ that ushered in South Africa and Brazil for 2010 and 2014 respectively, FIFA president Sepp Blatter praised the shortlist for ‘the diversity and quality of the contenders’. For the bidding teams however, the range and number of bidders represents an additional challenge as they kick off their campaigns.
A European bid is expected to win the 2018 event, but the multiplicity of political, economic, and football-specific variables involved in the new bid process, makes the prediction game tougher than ever. Below SportBusiness International introduce the runners and riders as they embark on a journey that will end for most of them in December 2010 when the FIFA executive votes on the hosting rights.
Australia
Bid team – Key personnel
Ben Buckley, Football Federation (FFA) Australia CEO and leader of bid team
FFA Chairman, Frank Lowy, chairman of bid team
Stuart Taggart, project manager FFA bid operations
Bid Venues
Australia is well supplied with venues, although most are based around the oval field used for Aussie Rules football or cricket. The Melbourne Cricket Ground could potentially stage the final as it can hold 100,108 spectators as could the ANZ Stadium (formerly Olympic Stadium) in Sydney, which holds 83,500.
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“ The bid will also help the world understand that Australia is a 'can do' country, where important, major events can happen with a minimum of fuss and a minimum of worry. This has always been a very important attribute, but will become increasingly more so in this century.”
Frank Lowy
Belgium/Holland
Bid team – Key personnel
Michael van Praag, president of the of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB)
Francois de Keersmaecker, president of the Royal Belgium Football Association
Harry Been, bid managing director and KNVB secretary general
PR Firm
Hill & Knowlton
Bid Venues
Reliant on venues built or revamped for Euro 2000 plus but will need to either expand current stadiums or build new ones to meet the 80,000-seater stadium requirements for the final
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"There are no borders between our countries, but there is a lot of friendship. Remember, we successfully hosted Euro 2000."
Joint-message to FIFA from the bid foundation
England
Lord Triesman, England Bid Committee Chairman
Andy Anson, England Bid Committee Chief Executive
Lord Coe and Sir Keith Mills are non-executive directors
Bid Venues
An England bid would include home of the English Football Association Wembley, Old Trafford (Manchester United) Emirates (Arsenal) Villa Park (Aston Villa) and the City of Manchester Stadium (Manchester City). Along with a North-eats venue,- probably St James' Park (Newcastle United) - new builds for clubs such as Everton, Liverpool Portsmouth, Leeds United, Bristol City and Nottingham Forest could feature as could a wild card venue in rugby union’s 82,000 capacity Twickenham.
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“We have fantastic infrastructure already in place - including some of the best and most famous stadia in world football - but that alone will not be enough. We cannot afford to sit back and expect success. We will have to work extremely hard to show the world that England is the place for the World Cup in 2018 "
Indonesia
Bid team – Key personnel
Nurdin Halid, Indonesian Footnall Association (PSSI) chairman Nugraha Besoes, PSSI general secretary
Bid Venues
Indonesia currently has three stadiums – the 88,000-capaciy Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta, Gelora Sriwijaya in Palembang and Palaran in Samarinda. The country plans to upgrade the infrastructure with 10 new stadiums throughout the country, including Bali, for its World Cup bid.
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"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."
Nurdin Halid, PSSI Chairman
Japan
Bid team – Key personnel
Saburo Kawabuchi, president of the Japanese Football Association (JFA)
Bid Venues
Japanese organisers would use Tokyo's proposed 100,000 capacity Olympic stadium plus venues from the 2002 World Cup, which the country co-hosted with South Korea.
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"We probably won't be able to go for 2018 and 2022 if Tokyo does not get the 2016 Olympics. We have to be realistic. The 2002 World Cup was a massive boost for Japanese football but it would be very difficult to bid for it again if the Olympic bid fails."
Junji Ogura, JFA vice-president
Mexico
Bid team – Key personnel
Justino Compeán, president of the Mexican Football Federations (FMF)
Decio De Maria, FMF general secretary
Bid Venues
Mexico is currently working on thirteen new stadiums, including venues in Monterrey, Guadalajara, Ciudad Juarez, the Laguna region, and Mexico City.
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"We want to make clear that right now there is no work with FIFA to bring the World Cup [here], but when FIFA looks at the CONCACAF area we don't want to say 'We want the World Cup', we want to say, 'We are ready.'
Albertyo de la Torre (President of the Mexican Football Federations)
Russia
Bid team – Key personnel
Vitali Mutko, Russian minister for sport and president of the Russian Football Union (RFU)
Alexei Sorokin, RFU general director
Bid Venues
Sochi, Krasnodar, Rostov, Moscow (Luzhniki Stadium and new builds in Moscow and the Moscow Region), St Petersburg, Yaroslavl, Kazan. Choose one or two from: Samara, Volgograd, Saransk and Yekaterinburg.
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"A bid to hold the World Cup is not a simple decision for the Sports Ministry or for the Government as there are certain financial problems. But we need to look ahead. Crises come and go, but football remains."
Sports Minister Vitali Mutko
Spain/Portugal
Bid team – Key personnel
Gilberto Madail, president of the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF)
Angel Maria Villar Llona, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF)
Bid Venues
Spanish football currently has nine stadia with 40,000-plus capacities, while Portugal upgraded or built ten stadia for Euro 2004
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“In the 2002 World Cup (in Japan/Korea), there were two cost centres and the revenue was not comparable to Germany 2006. The Iberian project will be run by a single organising committee and will not spend more money than a unique candidate. It should therefore be placed in a situation of equality with single candidates.”
Gilbert Madaíl
United States
Bid team – Key personnel
David Downs, USA Bid Committee Executive Director
Sunil Gulati, USA Bid Committee chairman and president of U.S. Soccer
John Kristick, managing director of Bid Planning and Operations
Bid PR
Fleishman-Hilliard International Communications
Bid Venues
Fifty-eight major venues in 49 metropolitan markets formally confirmed interest in playing host to FIFA World Cup matches in 2018 or 2022,, The hosts range in size from New York City to college town markets from coast to coast.
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“Hosting another successful World Cup is important for the continued growth of the sport in the United States… It is (also) about the United States of America inviting the world to gather all across our great country in celebration of our common hopes and dreams.”
President Barack Obama
9. Qatar (2022 only)
Bid team – Key personnel
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatar 2022 Bid chairman
Hassan Al-Thawadi, Qatar 2022 Bid CEO
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatar 2022 board member and president of the Qatar Football Association
Venues
Qatar is likely to build or upgrade stadia in four main locations: the capital, Doha, plus Al Wakrah, Al Khor and Mesaieed.
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“We know that FIFA will not change the dates for us, but …we have plans that will help us deal with the hot weather in those two months. We have 13 years to work on infrastructure, which can offer ideal conditions. A stadium with controlled temperature is the answer to the problem [and] we have already set in motion the process.”
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani,
South Korea (2022 only)
Bid team – Key personnel
Cho Chung-Yun KFA President
Sam Ka, KFA general director
Bid Venues
Will rely on the infrastructure built for the 2002 World Cup
Quote
“There is a strong chance that either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup will come to Asia, but even if there was a 10 percent chance, we would have to get ready. We all know the effect that 2002 had on the people. If we do host the World Cup once again, the effect will be huge.”
Cho Chung-yun, KFA president
