In an announcement broadcast live on the Internet from Zurich, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter announced the winners of the competition to host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup tournaments, naming Russia and Qatar as the winners.
“The World Cup is going to new lands,” Blatter said on Fifa.com.
“The FIFA World Cup has never been in eastern Europe or the Middle East. So, I'm a happy president when we speak of the development of football.”
Russia
Russia beat out England, a joint bid from Belgium and the Netherlands, and a joint bid from Spain and Portugal.
Qatar edged out Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the USA.
Russia promised to build 13 brand-new stadiums and to refurbish three older venues, creating 16 state-of-the-art facilities in 13 different cities across Russia, said Alexey Sorokin, CEO of the Russia 2018 Bid Committee. These facilities would last for many years, giving football a firm foundation in Russia.
The new stadiums stretch across a wide swath of Russia, though most are within an hour’s flight from Moscow. “This plan," Sorokin explained, “will allow both Russian and foreign fans to experience as much geographical and cultural diversity as possible in a single World Cup”
Qatar
Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani, Chairman of Qatar's 2022 Bid Committee, told Fifa.com, “FIFA made the right decision in awarding the World Cup to our country, where it can inspire positive change.
“We are so privileged to have a tournament like this coming to our region for the first time. We will not let FIFA down. Everything we have promised until now will become a reality.”
Qatar has pledged $4 billion to build 12 brand new, state-of-the-art football stadiums, some of which it will dismantle after the World Cup and send to developing nations, where the pieces will be reassembled to create 22 new facilities.
Qatar overcame objections to its climate to remain the favorite through four rounds of voting, finally defeating the United States 14 votes to 8. The average temperature in the region during the summer is 118 degrees Fahrenheit.
Qatar will provide state-of the art solar-powered, carbon neutral cooling for players and fans alike, Hassan Al-Thawadi, CEO of Qatar 2022 Bid Committee promised. “Heat is not, and will not be an issue,” Al-Thawadi told Fifa.com.
FIFA, the International Federation of Football Associations, says its World Cup is the most widely watche sporting event on the planet, with upwards of 70 million viewers for the final match of each tournament.
FIFA’s World Cup has been contested every four years since 1930, with a break for the second world war. Hosting the event is a tremendous honor, which brings not only national prestige but also a huge influx of tourists.
Nineteen different nations have hosted the tournament. The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be held in Brazil.
