Bank of America Stadium in uptown Charlotte is among 70 U.S. stadiums that could host soccer’s World Cup in 2018 or 2022, the USA Bid Committee said Wednesday.
Other contenders include the Georgia Dome and The University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium.
The committee mailed letters last week to public officials and stadium operators in metropolitan markets across the United States in a first step toward preparing a formal bid to play host to the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022. The World Cup is easily the world’s most popular sporting event, drawing billions of television viewers.
“The United States is uniquely qualified to stage the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022 as demonstrated by the dozens of metropolitan markets with venues capable of staging World Cup matches in every respect, from the quality of their stadiums to their overall ability to accommodate thousands of fans, news media and visitors from around the world,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati, in a news release. “We will soon begin discussions with officials from throughout the U.S. in the name of presenting a world class proposal to FIFA and the global soccer community.”
In 1994, nine U.S. stadiums were used when the United States played host to FIFA World Cup, which then featured a 24-team and 52-match format compared with today’s field of 32 nations competing in 64 matches.
The United States is one of nine nations that have formally declared their desire to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022. The others are Australia, England, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico and Russia, with joint bids from Netherlands-Belgium and Portugal-Spain. Qatar and South Korea have applied as candidates to play host to the tournament in 2022.
Source
Permanent link to this post: U.S. Soccer lists BofA Stadium as possible World Cup host
From the World today news weblog
