FIFA Confirms 11 Nations Are Bidding For World Cups

A total of 11 candidate nations have put their names forward as potential hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, according to a statement on the FIFA's official website.

Countries were invited to place simultaneous bids, should they wish, to host the 2022 event in case their 2018 bid fails.

In total, there were nine confirmed nations bidding for the 2018 tournament. These include: England; Russia; Australia; USA; Japan; Mexico; Indonesia; with joint bids from Portugal-Spain; and Netherlands-Belgium.

Qatar and South Korea were the two nations to apply solely for the 2022 tournament.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter is quoted by the governing body's official website as saying, "We are very pleased about the fantastic level of interest in our flagship competition, with all initial bidders confirming their candidature.

"The diversity and quality of the contenders will make this a very interesting selection process. This shows the importance of the FIFA World Cup as a truly universal event and the global power of this competition to help achieve positive change, in line with our claim: 'For the Game. For the World.'"

The next stage of the process arrives in April, when FIFA send Bidding Agreements to the respective football association. The deadline to return the agreement is December.

Three of the aforementioned nations have previously hosted the tournament: England (1966 - a tournament that they won); Mexico (1970/ 1986); and USA (1994).

The 2010 World Cup is to be staged in South Africa, while Brazil will host the 2014 tournament.

At least 12 stadiums in the bidding nation's country must exceed a minimum capacity of 40,000, while the final must be staged in a ground that has a minimum capacity of 80,000.

Alan Dawson, Goal.com

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Label: Sport