Spain And Portugal To Make 2018 World Cup Bid

England is set to face stiff competition from its European counterparts in the race to host the 2018 World Cup after it emerged that Spain and Portugal are to make a joint bid to stage the tournament.

The addition of Spain and Portgual to the list of confirmed nations seeking to land the 2018 World Cup mean that England now need to beat 6 other bidders with Australia, Qatar, the United States, Russia, and a joint Belgium-Netherlands bid all confirmed.

Countries must register their interest with world football governing body FIFA by 2nd February, and more bids are expected to follow.

Spain hosted the World Cup in 1982 and the European Championship in 1954, while more recently Portugal beat Spain to host Euro 2004.

The two countries will now form a joint committee to take the project forward.

A joint Spain-Portugal bid will provide strong competition for England as they can expect support from the three South American representatives on FIFA’s 24-man executive committee, who will decide a winner in December 2010.

FIFA will consider bids to host both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments over the next two years.

Candidates must be able to provide up to 12 stadia with minimum capacities of 40,000 for group matches and 80,000 for the opening match and final.

The 2010 World Cup will be held in South Africa while Brazil will host the 2014 tournament.