2014 FIFA World Cup

Template:Future sport The 2014 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place in South America. On March 7 2003, the world football body FIFA announced that the tournament would be held in South America for the first time since Argentina hosted the 1978 FIFA World Cup, in line with its policy of rotating the right to host the World Cup amongst different confederations.

The official bidding procedure for member associations of CONMEBOL, the South American football confederation, was opened in December 2006. Official bids are due by April 18, 2007, and the FIFA Executive Committee is scheduled to reach a decision on the host country in November 2007.

On June 3, 2003, CONMEBOL announced that Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia wanted to host the 2014 World Cup finals. By March 17, 2004, the CONMEBOL associations had voted unanimously to adopt Brazil as their sole candidate. Brazil formally declared its candidacy in December 2006 and Colombia did so as well a few days later. The Argentina bid never materialized. On April 11, 2007, Colombia officially withdrew its bid making Brazil the only official candidate to host the event in 2014.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has also confirmed that candidates from other continents would be considered should no South American bid meet FIFA's expected level of quality.

Official South American bid

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Brazil 2014 Official Bid Logo

Brazil is the only remaining official candidate to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup after Colombia withdrew its bid on April 11, 2007. The Brazilian bid was officially launched on December 13, 2006 by Ricardo Teixeira, the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, who signed the letter of candidacy in Tokyo in the presence of CONMEBOL president Nicolas Leoz and CONMEBOL general secretary Eduardo De Luca.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter stated on July 4, 2006 that the 2014 World Cup would probably be held in the country, though he acknowledged in earlier comments that the country did not have any stadia ready for the Cup at the moment. On September 28, he met with the Brazilian President Lula and was quoted as saying he wants the country to prove its capabilities before making a decision. "But the ball is on Brazil's court now," he said. In September 2006, Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva confirmed Blatter's opinion, declaring: "We don’t have any stadium which is in a condition to host World Cup games. We’re going to have to build at least 12 new stadiums in this country.”

Potential host cities are already preparing for the tournament. On 12 January 2007, Ricardo Teixeira visited the governor of the Federal District and told him Brasília would be one of the host cities in case Brazil is chosen to host the World Cup. In the same meeting, the governor disclosed his intentions of restoring the old Estádio Mané Garrincha for the competition. The capacity would be extended to 75,000, allowing the ground the host both the inaugural match and the final.

Porto Alegre newspaper Zero Hora ran a report on 16 July 2006 mentioning that Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Curitiba, Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte are almost certain as host cities in case Brazil is appointed to host the World Cup. However, since FIFA stipulates a minimum of eight and a maximum of ten host cities, there are many other likely venues for World Cup matches. Zero Hora mentioned Florianópolis, whose Estádio Orlando Scarpelli, owned by Figueirense Futebol Clube, will likely be remodelled with the aim to host World Cup matches, as well as a few cities in the Centre, North and North-East, such as Fortaleza, Salvador, Recife, Belém and Goiânia.

Brazil hosted the 1950 World Cup and has hosted the Copa América four times (1919, 1922, 1949, and 1989).

Based on city size and existing stadiums, these are the twelve locations that have the potential for renovation or reconstruction:

• Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
• Estádio Olímpico João Havelange, Rio de Janeiro
• Morumbi, São Paulo
• Parque Antártica , São Paulo
• Estádio do Pacaembu, São Paulo
• Mineirão, Belo Horizonte
• Estádio Olímpico Monumental, Porto Alegre
• Estádio Mané Garrincha, Brasília
• Kyocera Arena, Curitiba
• Estádio Orlando Scarpelli, Florianópolis
• Serra Dourada, Goiânia
• Estádio Mangueirão, Belém
• Fonte Nova, Salvador
• Estádio do Arruda, Recife

This list will eventually be narrowed down to meet FIFA's requirement that no more than one host city feature two host stadia.

Former and rumoured bids

Colombia

Colombia formally declared its candidacy on December 18, 2006 and withdrew it on April 11, 2007.

The president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, had initially announced on July 15, 2006 that Colombia would submit a bid. During his speech at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games, Uribe said: "By seeing how things were done to organise these Games, I think Colombia is capable of hosting a football World Cup. I'm sure we will achieve it and will do it very well." Vice President Francisco Santos Calderón was in charge of the project. Colombia had been set to be the host of the 1986 World Cup but withdrew to the benefit of Mexico because of economic issues, disagreements with FIFA, and concerns about the unstable situation in Colombia at the time. Colombia has hosted the Copa América once (2001). However, on February 27, 2007, FIFA president Sepp Blatter appeared to discard any Colombian chances of hosting the event: "Colombia is more of a public relations presentation of the country to say that we are alive not only in other headlines but also in football," Blatter said, implicitly referring to the country's drugs and crime problems.

Possible stadia for the Colombian bid would have been:

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Argentina/Chile

It was suggested that Argentina and Chile could launch a joint bid but this possibility is now highly unlikely after the withdrawal of Colombia's bid and the confirmation of a strong consensus within CONMEBOL to back Brazil's bid. On the topic of co-hosting, Blatter advised that FIFA would prefer a single candidate which fulfilled the requirements..

Argentina hosted the 1978 World Cup and has hosted the Copa América eight times (1916, 1921, 1925, 1929, 1937, 1946, 1959, and 1987).

Chile hosted the 1962 World Cup and has hosted the Copa América six times (1920, 1926, 1941, 1945, 1955, and 1991).

Argentina's chances have recently improved, however, as Brazil's president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva admitted that his country was not ready to host the 2014 World Cup. According to Argentine media, FIFA has subsequently contacted the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The AFA's president, Julio Grondona, responded that hosting the event would be "an honour for [his] country."

Possible bids from non South American countries

Although FIFA's policy of continental rotation ensures that South America will host the 2014 World Cup, FIFA President Sepp Blatter has stated in the past that bids from other continents could be considered if no South American bid met FIFA's quality standards. The following potential bids have been mentioned:

Australia

South Australian premier Mike Rann put forward a proposal for Australia to host the 2014 event. He was backed by Prime Minister John Howard who said that Australia has proven it can host world sporting events. Football Federation Australia President Frank Lowy has also expressed considerable interest in the proposal and is amid negotiations to formally put forward Australia's bid. Australia is now part of the Asian Football Confederation which has not hosted since 2002, having in January 2006 left the Oceania Football Confederation which has never hosted. Despite Australia's large number of capable stadiums (because of Melbourne and Sydney's recent Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games) and its good performance at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, many believe Australia may have to wait until 2018 or later before it will stand a chance of hosting.

Australia hosted the OFC Nations Cup twice (1998, and 2004), and four-way co-hosted once (1996).

Despite its population of just over 20 million, Australia is endowed with an excellent lodging and transportation infrastructure as well as a number of large stadiums, many which have been recently re-developed and upgraded.

Available stadiums that already meet FIFA's 40,000-capacity requirement include:

• Melbourne Cricket Ground (Melbourne - approx. capacity 100,000)
• Telstra Stadium (Sydney - 83,500)
• Telstra Dome (Melbourne - 56,347)
• AAMI Stadium (Adelaide - 51,515)
• Suncorp Stadium (Brisbane - 52,579)
• Sydney Cricket Ground (Sydney - 44,000)
• Subiaco Oval (Perth - 42,922)
• Wooloongabba Cricket Ground a.k.a. The Gabba (Brisbane - 42,000)
• Aussie Stadium (Sydney - 41,159)

Other available stadiums that would require expansion to at least 40,000 include:

• Princes Park (Melbourne - 35,000)
• Adelaide Oval (Adelaide - 33,597)
• Skilled Stadium (Geelong - 28,300)
• EnergyAustralia Stadium (Newcastle - 26,126)
• Dairy Farmers Stadium (Townsville - 24,843)
• Canberra Stadium (Canberra - 24,647)
• Ballymore Stadium (Brisbane - 24,000)
• Aurora Stadium (Launceston - 23,000)
• Central Coast Stadium (Gosford - 20,119)
• Olympic Park Stadium (Melbourne - 20,000)
• WIN Stadium (Wollongong - 18,484)
• Carrara Stadium (Gold Coast - 18,000)

Current FIFA policy mandates that only one city can have two stadiums hosting matches in a given World Cup and that the number of host cities be between eight and ten. Five cities already have stadiums large enough to host World Cup fixtures. To meet FIFA guidelines, an Australian bid would require the construction or renovation of stadiums in at least three more cities. Out of the above list of cities with available stadiums, the federal capital Canberra is the most likely to be included in a bid for symbolic reasons. Newcastle and Wollongong, the other two largest cities of the list, are likely candidates as well. Political considerations may also lead to the selection of Hobart and Darwin in order to distribute the infrastructural benefits of a World Cup across all Australian states.

United States

The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) has expressed interest since the 2002 FIFA World Cup to offer a bid for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Given the support soccer now has in the U.S., USSF former President Dr. S. Robert Contiguglia is confident that the U.S. can put together a very strong bid. The United States hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup, plus the 1999 and 2003 Women's World Cups (the latter on short notice, as original host China was forced to relinquish hosting duties due to the SARS outbreak in that country). The U.S. has also hosted the Gold Cup all eight times it has been contested, serving as sole host six times (1991, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2005) and cohost with Mexico twice (1993, 2003). The U.S. will be sole host again in 2007.

The U.S. has no shortage of stadiums that could host a World Cup with little or no renovation. For example, every stadium in the 32-team National Football League, literally dozens of college football stadiums, and many baseball stadiums have well over the 40,000 minimum seating required for hosting World Cup finals matches. Not all of these stadiums would necessarily be usable for a World Cup, however:

• Many of these stadiums, especially those used for college football, are designed around the American football field, which is about 20 metres narrower than the FIFA standard pitch.
• As for baseball stadiums, many could fairly easily accommodate a football pitch, but the optimal seating configuration is radically different from that for any code of football. Many stadiums were built in the 1960s and early 1970s for professional teams in both the NFL and Major League Baseball (see especially cookie cutter stadium), but they eventually proved less than optimal for both games, and almost all of them have now been replaced by separate stadiums for the two sports.
• Many U.S. stadiums have at least one large bank of bleacher seating instead of the individual chairback seats currently mandated by FIFA. However, this may not be as large a problem as it may seem at first. Converting a bleacher section to all-seater configuration is not overly technically demanding; Germany designed many of the standing terraces in its large stadiums to be convertible to all-seated configuration for international matches, including the

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• An increasing number of stadiums in the U.S. have installed new-generation artificial surfaces such as FieldTurf, which FIFA does not allow for World Cup finals play (though it is allowed for all other international matches). However, the majority of large stadiums in the U.S. still have grass surfaces. Even for the stadiums with artificial turf, installing a grass pitch for World Cup play is a relatively simple matter, and was done at the Pontiac Silverdome for the

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References

External links

• FIFA President gives press briefing - 20 May 2006
• Mundial Colombia 2014 Web Site for the Promotion of Colombia's 2014 World Cup bid. (In Spanish)