22 Dec 2008Fifa to announce 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts simultaneously

Football Leagues/ Association and Governance

Fifa confirmed on Saturday (December 20th) that it will announce the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments at the same time.

With the bidding process for both competitions set to commence next month, football's world governing body has revealed that the decision will be made in December 2010.

Furthermore, the news means that any country failing with a 2018 bid will now be able to enter the running for the 2022 tournament immediately, providing the 2018 host is not from the same continent.

England are preparing a bid for the 2018 showpiece event but bid chairman Lord Triesman, who is also the chairman of the FA, has explained that the dual process will not affect preparations.

He said: "The bid strategy will continue to focus on a presentation that prepares England for a tournament in 2018.

"But the team will now study today's announcement to ensure complete understanding of the process required by Fifa and the wider option available."

England's rivals for the tournament will be Belgium and The Netherlands, who have declared a formal bid, while Japan, China, Qatar, Mexico, the United States, Russia and Australia are all also thought to be interested.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter recently described England as a "strong candidate" for 2018.

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