NO MORE ROTATION FOR FIFA WORLD CUP

Under the chairmanship of President Joseph S. Blatter, the FIFA Executive Committee unanimously passed a decision to abandon the principle (originally introduced in the year 2000) of rotating the men’s World Cup from continent to continent.

The confederations whose associations have hosted the two preceding World Cups will not be eligible to bid, however.

Consequently, all the associations from Asia, North and Central America and the Caribbean, Oceania and Europe may bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

One of the reasons for changing the rotation principle was the fact that only one candidate – Brazil – is still in contention for the 2014 FIFA World Cup that is due to be awarded.

The executive stated explicitly that eligibility to host the World Cup should no longer be restricted to the rotation principle as it was also in FIFA’s interests to maintain true competition among several candidates.

The provision regarding the exclusion of bids from associations belonging to the two previous host confederations will require an amendment to the FIFA Statutes at the 2008 FIFA Congress.

“The rotation principle has served its purpose and has enabled us to award our most prestigious competition to Africa for the first time,” said Blatter.

“Since several associations from different confederations have already declared their interest in bidding, the FIFA executive came to the conclusion that as from 2018 the bidding procedure should once again be open to all continents, except those parts of the world that have hosted the two previous tournaments.”

SOURCE: FIFA.COM