Blatter Questions England 2018 Chances
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has dampened the hopes for England’s bid to host the
2018 World Cup by vocally supporting the governing body’s current rotation
system – views that he will expand upon in tonight’s Sport Industry Interview.
Despite talking up England’s suitability as a host nation, Blatter also
backed the current full rotation system which would mean that Europe was not
scheduled to host the event until 2026.
FIFA’s executive committee is scheduled to meet in December to decide whether
to maintain its rotation policy with the current scenario meaning that the 2018
tournament will be held in either North America or Asia.
Blatter stated: ‘The executive must take a decision whether the rotation
should include all federations. If the Americas are considered as one, then
rotation would go to Asia.’
The FIFA president said his personal inclination was for the rotation to
continue to North America for 2018, with the USA, Mexico, and Canada all in
theory capable of hosting the tournament.
The USA has indicated its intention to bid to stage the finals for a second
time, while China along with Australia have voiced their intent to bid should
the event move straight to Asia.
It is not beyond the realms of possibility that FIFA’s December executive
committee meeting could decide to throw the competition open to all bidders.
Blatter explained: ‘It may be that the majority of the FIFA executive
committee where you have eight European representatives out of 24, can find the
13 votes needed.’
Another option on the table is for the FIFA executive committee to bring the
World Cup to Europe every third term given the continent’s status as the
dominant TV marketplace in terms of commercial income.
Such a scenario would mean that England’s 2018 bid would be very much alive
as it would fit into such a rotation policy.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter will be the subject of the 2007 Sport
Industry Interview tonight conducted by BBC presenter John Inverdale.
Edited video highlights of the Sport Industry Interview will be
available for download from Sportindustry.biz tomorrow morning.
