Belgium–Netherlands 2018 FIFA World Cup bid

The official logo of the Belgium-Netherlands 2018 FIFA World Cup bid

Alain Courtois, a Belgian Member of Parliament, announced in October 2006 that a formal bid would be made on behalf of the three Benelux countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg to host either the 2018 FIFA World Cup or 2022 version, but has since decided to concentrate solely on the 2018 version (see 2018 European World Cup bids) .[1] In June 2007 the three countries launched their campaign not as a joint bid in the manner of the Korea-Japan World Cup in 2002, but emphasizing it as a common political organization.[2] Luxembourg would not host any matches or automatically qualify for the finals in a successful Benelux bid, but would host a FIFA congress.[3]

Schedule

Date Notes
15 January 2009 Applications formally invited
2 February 2009Closing date for registering intention to bid
16 March 2009Deadline to submit completed bid registration forms
14 May 2010Deadline for submission of full details of bid
9–12 August 2010Inspection committee visits Belgium/Netherlands[4]
2 December 2010FIFA to appoint hosts for 2018 and 2022 World Cups

Developments

Belgium and the Netherlands registered their intention to bid jointly in March 2009. A delegation led by the presidents of the Belgian and Dutch national football associations met FIFA president Sepp Blatter on 14 November 2007, officially announcing their interest in submitting a joint bid.[5] On 19 March 2008 the delegation also met with UEFA President Michel Platini to convince him that it was a serious offer under one management. Afterwards they claimed to have impressed Platini, who supports the idea of getting the world cup to Europe.[6]

FIFA tends to favour bids from single nations. In 2009, Blatter suggested that joint bids would be rejected if a suitable individual bid was available.[7] Another factor that is against the Benelux bid is the lack of an 80,000 capacity stadium to host the final.[8] However, the city council of Rotterdam gave permission in March 2009 for development of a new stadium with a capacity of around 80,000 seats to be completed in time for the possible World Cup in 2018.

Belgian prime minister Yves Leterme met the mayor of the city of Brussels Freddy Thielemans and NMBS/SNCB leader Jannie Haek to discuss plans for a new 60,000-seater stadium in Brussels, for which there are three possibilities: the first would be to renovate and expand the current King Baudouin Stadium, the second would be to build a new stadium on the Heysel, and the third would be to build one on the property of the SNCB in the municipality of Schaerbeek. As a whole, Leterme stated that Belgium should get 4 stadia with a capacity of 40,000 together with the new 60,000-seater stadium in Brussels.[9] Euro 2000 was also jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands. On 23 June former French football international Christian Karembeu was presented as official counselor for the joint bid.

2018 World Cup European bids

After eventual withdrawals from both Australia,[10] and the United States[11] in bidding for the 2018 World Cup, and in practice with FIFA's current policy of the same continent unable to win both bids, the Belgium/Netherlands bid is effectively disqualified from eligibility for the 2022 edition.

Candidate venues

In November 2009, the venues were presented. In Belgium, matches will be played in 7 venues: Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Charleroi, Genk, Ghent and Liège. In the Netherlands, only five cities would host matches: Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Enschede, Heerenveen and Rotterdam, but both Amsterdam and Rotterdam will provide two stadiums. Eindhoven will function as the 'capital city' of the World Cup.[12]

Image Stadium Host city Host country Current capacity World Cup capacity later use
Abe Lenstra Stadion Heerenveen Netherlands 26,100 44,000 32,100
De Grolsch Veste Enschede Netherlands 24,180 44,000
Amsterdam Arena Amsterdam Netherlands 52,960 65,000
Olympisch Stadion Amsterdam Netherlands 22,288 44.000 22,288
De Kuip Rotterdam Netherlands 48,500 48,500
Nieuwe Kuip Rotterdam Netherlands new 82,800
Philips Stadion Eindhoven Netherlands 35,150 45,000
Port of Antwerp Antwerp Belgium new 45,000 25,000
Cristal Arena Genk Belgium 24,500 45,000
Liège Belgium project
Charleroi Belgium project
Nationaal Stadion Brussels Belgium new 80,000
Arteveldestadion Ghent Belgium 20,000 40,000
Bruges Belgium new 40,000

Official Bid Partners

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Benelux trio to apply to host 2018 World Cup". ESPN. 16 October 2006. Retrieved 18 October 2006.
  2. ↑ "Benelux countries launch 2018 World Cup bid". ESPN. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
  3. ↑ "Benelux countries want World Cup". BBC News Online (London). 14 November 2007. Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2007.
  4. ↑ "FIFA receives bidding documents for 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups" (Press release). FIFA.com. 2010-05-14. Archived from the original on 29 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  5. ↑ "Associations of Belgium and the Netherlands officially announce interest in submitting joint bid". 14 November 2007. Archived from the original on 15 November 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2007.
  6. ↑ "Ons dossier maakte indruk bij Platini". sporza.be (in Dutch). 19 March 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
  7. ↑ "Blatter casts doubt on joint World Cup bids". ESPN. 30 January 2009.
  8. ↑ Vesty, Marc (17 March 2009). "The race to host World Cup 2018 and 2022". BBC Sport (London).
  9. ↑ "Leterme zet zich in voor WK-kandidatuur België". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch) (Brussels). Belga. 5 June 2008. Archived from the original on 3 July 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
  10. ↑ "Australia to focus on 2022 FIFA World Cup Bid" (Press release). Australiabid.com.au. 2010-06-11. Archived from the original on 27 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
  11. ↑ "USA Withdraw From 2018 World Cup Bid Race" (Press release). World Football Insider. 2010-10-15. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
  12. ↑ "België krijgt zeven speelsteden op het WK 2018". Sporza.be (in Dutch) (Eindhoven). Belga. 9 November 2009. Archived from the original on 11 November 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2009.

External links

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