The Dutch and Belgian football associations agreed to establish a joint foundation to prepare their bid to co-host the 2018 World Cup finals, Reuters reports.
In a statement to the press, the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) said that a total of 11 cities in Belgium and Netherlands have said they could host the matches. The decision comes 12 months after the Dutch and Belgian governments formally told world football’s governing body FIFA they wanted to host the tournament.
Several nations, including the United States, Mexico, England, Spain, China and Australia, have also expressed interest in hosting the 2018 finals. Last month, FIFA's executive committee postponed until December a decision on whether to run the bidding process for 2018 and 2022 simultaneously.
The two countries jointly hosted Euro 2000.
