CONCACAF Supports US World Cup Bid

The US bid to host either 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup just got a lot stronger. The CONCACAF Executive Committee met earlier in the week and unanimously supported the United States' bid to host the world's premier soccer tournament.

CONCACAF President Jack Warner said, "The United States can count on the full support of CONCACAF, including Chuck Blazer, Rafael Salguero and myself." These are strong words of endorsement, particularly after Warner has been so outspoken in criticizing England's World Cup bid.

Bids for 2018 and 2022 were originally submitted back in March, and as it stands now, there are 10 bids for 2018 and 12 for 2022. For the 2018 edition, the submitted bids include Australia, a Belgium-Netherlands joint bid, England, Indonesia, Japan, a Portugal-Spain joint bid, Russia, and the US. All of these countries have also submitted bids for the 2022 World Cup, with South Korea and Qatar also throwing their hats into the ring for the right to host. Mexico also put in a bid, but has since withdrawn themselves from consideration.

FIFA is no doubt eager to return to the US after the 1994 World Cup smashed attendance records. The support from CONCACAF makes a World Cup in the US an even greater possibility now, as the bids jockey for support from the various voters. Going ahead, there are two dates to mark on your calendar. All of the aforementioned countries need to submit the full details of their respective bids by May 14, 2010, and the 24-man FIFA Executive Committee will announce the winning bids on December 2, 2010. So even though fans will find themselves in international soccer purgatory next winter with the 2010 cycle finished and the 2014 cycle not yet started, they will still have some World Cup news to look forward to.