Bidding For The World Cup: Blatter Approves Joint Belgium-Netherlands Bid...

Blatter reassures Dutch-Belgium bid

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has moved to reassure Belgium and the Netherlands of the validity of their joint World Cup bid, describing the neighbors as part of the same “political entity.”

Japan and South Korea jointly hosted the 2002 World Cup Finals, but Blatter has made clear that he does not want to repeat the co-hosting experience. There was a sense that Japan-South Korea was, in effect, two World Cups rolled into one, with two local organizing committees effectively competing against each other, rather than cooperating.
Speaking after a visit to the Belgium-Netherlands organizing committee in Brussels on Monday, Blatter insisted the Belgian-Dutch bid was “totally different.”

"A candidature of the Netherlands and Belgium should be accepted as we have evidence that there is one organizing committee... If they talk of Luxembourg too, it is Benelux which is a political entity," he said.

Blatter, who also visited Belgian King Albert and his Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, said that the bid was “appealing.” The two countries jointly hosted the 2000 European Championships.

However, when pressed by journalists the FIFA President refused to endorse the joint Spain/Portugal bid.
Although the Spanish FA have insisted it plans on going ahead with the joint bid, persistent media speculation within Spain suggests they are seriously considering going it alone.

London Olympic Stadium may yet host World Cup – Jowell

British Olympics minister Tessa Jowell has hinted at a softening of her position on the use of London’s Olympic Stadium as a possible venue for the 2018 World Cup, saying if England’s bid was successful there would be a case for “re-examination” of current plans to turn it into an athletics stadium.

London’s host city bid team have included the 80,000 stadium in their bid to the Football Association, and Olympics organizers have indicated a willingness to explore plans to keep it at its full capacity, rather than reduce it to a 25,000 capacity athletics stadium after the games.

But Jowell has been a persistent opponent of plans to use the Olympics Stadium as a large-scale football stadium post-2012.

In the House of Commons on Monday she was asked by shadow sports minister, Hugh Robertson, to “re-examine” her opposition to the proposal.

The minister replied: "I have discussed this with [Olympic legacy company chairwoman] Baroness Ford. We have not yet won the right to hold the World Cup in 2018. Clearly, if our excellent bid is successful, of course there is a case for re-examination.”

But Jowell added a cautionary note, saying that maintenance of an enlarged Olympic Stadium was “not cost free.”

“The House should understand that plans will proceed in order to make sure that we honor our commitment to the IOC and to athletes across the country in the (Olympic) bid book that we will have, as a legacy for the Games, a 20,000 grand prix-capable athletics stadium," she added.

Football Association technical teams have continued their first round of host city applications this week, with visits to Milton Keynes, Derby and Portsmouth.

Officials in Derby claimed inspectors were “impressed” by their plans, while local media in Milton Keynes described its inspection day “one of the most important days in the city's [sic] history.

In a separate development Sheffield City Council has approved a planning application to extend Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane. Under the plans 3000 seats will be added to the Kop, bringing total capacity up to 36,000.

Bramall Lane is one of two stadiums Sheffield has put forward in its host city bid. United say they will increase capacity further – to 44,000 – if their bid to host World Cup football is successful.

Putin calls on Russians to unite behind World Cup bid

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has described the support of his people “the most important component” as Russia prepares to bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup finals.

Russia is one of eleven countries to make a preliminary bid for the finals, but its bid team has so far kept a low profile.

“This task of advancing Russia’s bid for the right to host World Cup 2018 is a national one. This decision has been made in principle, and we are now deciding on practical aspects of advancing our bid,” Putin was quoted by the state-run Itar-Tass press agency.

Putin also moved to allay concerns over construction for the 2014 Winter Olympics, to be staged in the Black Sea city of Sochi, saying they were “totally and completely on schedule.”

Socceroos talk up Australia’s World Cup bid

Football Federation Australia CEO Ben Buckley talks to Harry Kewell prior to the Australian Socceroos Business In The Gulf Luncheon at the Grand Millenium Hotel Dubai on June 11, 2008 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Getty Images)
After successfully qualifying for next year’s World Cup Finals, leading figures in the Australian football establishment have been talking up the country’s bid for the 2018 or 2022 finals.

Australian Football Federation (FFA) chief Ben Buckley says that qualification for South Africa gives the country “credibility factor within FIFA and the broader football community.”

“We have a strong track record of hosting major sporting events and are respected worldwide,” Buckley told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph. “We have a very good sports infrastructure here. We are now domiciled in Asia. It's a confederation close to two-thirds of the world's population. It's the fastest growing football region in the world and potentially the growth engine of the world economy.

West Ham’s Australian international defender Lucas Neill says that the World Cup is “about advertising Australia to the World.”

“It's about bringing people together to support a common cause – football,” he told the August issue of FourFourTwo magazine. “We want to host the biggest event in the world in our own back yard. It's a privilege and an honor that not many countries have.”

Latino TV Chief joins US bid committee

Joe Uva, CEO of Univision Communications, the US’s largest Spanish broadcaster, will join the Board of Directors for the USA Bid Committee. He joins such figures as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Henry Kissinger and Robert Kraft.

“For our bid to be successful, we will need the support of key allies in the media to help us communicate the fundamental mission behind our bid,” Sunil Gulati, Chairman of the USA Bid Committee and President of U.S. Soccer, said in a statement. “Univision answers that call with a significant and growing base of viewers that has proven over the years to be passionate about soccer.”

Shorts

…US World Cup bid chief, David Downs, has spoken favorably about Philadelphia’s prospects of serving as a host city for his country’s World Cup bid. Speaking after the United States’ penalties victory over Panama at the city’s Lincoln Financial Field, Downs said: “Philadelphia is a nice city and a worthy candidate to be a World Cup venue. The crowd made a great impression. The building holds the noise and it was a fun atmosphere. It's a first-class facility with first-class amenities.”

…British swimming star Rebecca Adlington has backed Nottingham’s campaign to be a host city in England’s 2018 World Cup bid. Adlington, who grew up in nearby Mansfield, said: "I'm definitely backing the 2018 bid - an international sporting event in Nottingham has got to be good for the city. Any event that will help get kids active and bring investment to the region gets my support."

…Harry Been, who is leading the Dutch side of the Netherlands-Belgium bid for the 2018/2022 World Cup, has called for cooperation with leaders of the Netherlands 2028 Olympics bid. “We could help them along. The one lobby strengthens the other,” Been told Rotterdam’s NRC Handelsblad newspaper. Deputy sports minister Jet Bussemaker added: “Each step must mean something, must help improve the top sport and recreational sport climate in the Netherlands, even if we do not win both bids.”

…At a groundbreaking ceremony for the 57,500 Birmingham-Jefferson Stadium the sports promoter Gene Hallman said the expanded stadium will enable Alabama’s largest city to pursue events with an international audience. "It positions us to put Birmingham in as part of a World Cup Soccer bid for 2018 or 2022," said Hallman. The stadium, which will cost $500 million, can be extended to seat 70,000 and will include 160,000 square feet of exhibition space.

Written by James Corbett

Fonte: http://www.worldfootballinsider.com/Story.aspx?id=32493