List of FIFA World Cup hosts
The celebration of early FIFA World Cups was awarded to countries at meetings of FIFA's congress. The choice of location was highly controversial, given the three week boat journey between South America and Europe, the two centres of strength in football at the time. The decision to hold the first cup in Uruguay, for example, led to only four European nations competing.[1] The next two World Cups were both held in Europe. The decision to hold the second of these, the 1938 FIFA World Cup, in France was controversial, as the American countries had been led to understand that the World Cup would rotate between the two continents. Both Argentina and Uruguay thus boycotted the tournament.[2] After World War II, to avoid any future boycotts or controversy, FIFA began a pattern of alternation between the Americas and Europe, which continued until the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The system evolved so that the host country is now chosen in a vote by FIFA's Executive Committee. This is done under a single transferable vote system. The decision is currently made seven years in advance of the tournament.
Only Mexico, Italy, France and Germany have hosted the event on two occasions, and Brazil will be the host for the second time in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Mexico City's Aztec Stadium is the only venue ever to have hosted two FIFA World Cup finals.
List of hosts
Details of the candidates and voting follow in the next section.
Year | Host |
---|---|
1930 | Uruguay |
1934 | Italy |
1938 | France |
1942 | Cancelled due to World War II |
1946 | Cancelled due to World War II |
1950 | Brazil |
1954 | Switzerland |
1958 | Sweden |
1962 | Chile |
1966 | England |
1970 | Mexico |
1974 | West Germany |
1978 | Argentina |
1982 | Spain |
1986 | Mexico |
1990 | Italy |
1994 | United States |
1998 | France |
2002 | South Korea / Japan |
2006 | Germany |
2010 | South Africa |
2014 | Brazil |
Voting Results
Bids:
Before the FIFA Congress could vote on the first-ever World Cup host, a series of withdrawals led to the election of Uruguay; The Netherlands and Hungary withdrew; this was followed by Sweden withdrawing in favour of Italy; then both Italy and Spain withdrew, in favour of the only remaining candidate Uruguay. The FIFA Congress met in Barcelona, Spain on May 18, 1929 to ratify the decision, and Uruguay was chosen without a vote.
Results:
- Uruguay
Italywithdrew in favour of UruguaySpainwithdrew in favour of UruguaySwedenwithdrew in favour of ItalyNetherlandswithdrewHungarywithdrew
Bids:
Sweden withdrew before the vote, allowing the only remaining candidate (Italy) to take the hosting job for the 1934 World Cup. The decision was ratified by the FIFA Congress in Stockholm, Sweden and Zürich, Switzerland on May 14, 1932. The Italian Football Federation accepted the hosting duties on October 9, 1932.
Results:
Bids:
Without any nations withdrawing their bids before the vote, the FIFA Congress convened in Berlin, Germany on August 13, 1936 to decide the next host of the World Cup. Electing France took only one ballot, as France had more than half of the votes in the first round.
Results:
1942 FIFA World Cup
Bids:
The outbreak of World War II cancelled both the 1942 and 1946 World Cups; therefore, no vote was taken to determine a host.
Bid:
Brazil had an official bid for the 1942 World Cup, but the Cup was canceled after the outbreak of World War II. The 1950 World Cup was originally scheduled for 1949, but the day after Brazil was selected by the FIFA Congress on July 26, 1946 in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, the World Cup was rescheduled for 1950.
Result:
Bid:
The 1954 World Cup hosting duty was decided on July 26, 1946, the same day that Brazil was selected for the 1950 World Cup, in Luxembourg City. This World Cup was also (in addition to the 1950 FIFA World Cup) pushed back a year on July 27, 1946, changing the date from 1953 to 1954.
Result:
Bid:
As in most of the earlier World Cup bidding, the World Cup bidding process went unopposed, and the FIFA Congress ratified the choice of Sweden (who had withdrawn their bid for the 1930 World Cup) as the host in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 23, 1950.
Result:
Bids:
West Germany withdrew before the vote, which took place in Lisbon, Portugal on June 10, 1956, leaving two remaining bids. In one round of voting, Chile won over Argentina.
Results:
- Chile, 32 votes
- Argentina, 11 votes
West Germanywithdrew
Bids:
Spain withdrew from the bidding prior to voting by the FIFA Congress, held in Rome, Italy on August 22, 1960. Again, there was only one round of voting, with England defeating Germany for the hosting position, and for the champions title.
Results:
- England, 34 votes
- West Germany, 27 votes
Spainwithdrew
Bids:
The FIFA Congress convened in Tokyo, Japan on October 8, 1964. One round of voting saw Mexico win the hosting duties over Argentina.
Results:
1974 Bids:
1978 Bids:
1982 Bids:
In an odd set of circumstances, three hosts were chosen in London, England on July 6, 1966 by the FIFA Congress. Spain and Germany, both facing each other in the running for hosting duties for the 1974 and 1982 World Cups, agreed to give one another a hosting job. Germany withdrew from the 1982 bidding process while Spain withdrew from the 1974 bidding process, essentially guaranteeing each a hosting spot. Mexico, who had just won the 1970 hosting bid over Argentina just two years prior, agreed to withdraw and let Argentina take the hosting position.
Results:
1974:
- West Germany
Spainwithdrew in exchange for 1982 hosting duties
1978:
1982:
- Spain
West Germanywithdrew in exchange for 1974 hosting duties
Bid:
Host voting, now handled by the FIFA Executive Committee (or Exco), met in Stockholm on June 9, 1974 and ratified the unopposed Colombian bid.
Result:
However, Colombia withdrew after being selected to host the World Cup due to financial problems on November 5, 1982, less than four years before the event was to start. A call for bids was sent out again, and FIFA received intent from three nations:
In Zürich on May 20, 1983, Mexico won the bidding unanimously as voted by the Exco, for the first time in FIFA World Cup bidding history (except those nations who bid unopposed).
Results:
- Mexico, unanimous (unknown number of votes)
- (tie) Canada, United States: 0 votes
Bids:
England and Greece both withdrew before the vote, which was to be conducted by Exco in Zürich on May 19, 1984. Once again, only one round of voting was required, as Italy won more votes than the Soviet Union.
Results:
- Italy, 11 votes
- Soviet Union, 5 votes
EnglandwithdrewGreecewithdrew
Bids:
Despite having three nations bidding for host duties, voting only took one round. The vote was held in Zürich (for the third straight time) on July 4, 1988. The United States won the bid by receiving a little over half of the votes by the Exco members.
Results:
- United States, 10 votes
- Morocco, 7 votes
- Brazil, 2 votes
Bids:
This vote was held in Zürich for the fourth straight time on July 1, 1992. Only one vote was required to have France assume the hosting job over Morocco and Switzerland.
Result:
- France, 12 votes
- Morocco, Switzerland; combined 7 votes
Bids:
On May 31, 1996, the hosting selection meeting was held in Zürich for the fifth straight time. A joint bid was formed between Japan and South Korea, and the bid was "voted by acclamation," an oral vote without ballots. The first joint bid of the World Cup was approved, edging out the single bid by Mexico.
Results:
- South Korea/ Japan (joint bid, voted by acclamation)
- Mexico
Controversy
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was co-hosted in Asia for the first time by South Korea and Japan. Initially, the two Asian countries were competitors in the bidding process. But just before the vote, they agreed with FIFA to co-host the event. However, the rivalry and distance between them led to organizational and logistical problems. FIFA has said that co-hosting is not likely to happen again, and in 2004 officially stated that its statutes did not allow co-hosting bids.[3]
Bids:
On July 7, 2000, the host selection meeting was held for the sixth straight time in Zürich. Brazil withdrew its bid three days before the vote, and the field was narrowed to four. This was the first selection in which more than one vote round was required. Three votes were eventually needed. Germany was at least tied for first in each of the three votes, and ended up defeating South Africa by only one vote after an odd abstention (see below).
Nation | Vote | ||
---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | |
Germany | 10 | 11 | 12 |
South Africa | 6 | 11 | 11 |
England | 5 | 2 | |
Morocco | 2 | ||
Total Votes | 23 | 24 | 23 |
Controversy
The controversy over the decision to award the 2006 FIFA World Cup to Germany led to a further change in practice. The final tally was 12 votes to 11 in favour of Germany over the contenders South Africa, who had been favorites to win. New Zealand FIFA member Charlie Dempsey, who was instructed to vote for South Africa by the Oceania Football Confederation, abstained from voting at the last minute. If he had voted for the South African bid, the tally would have been 12–12, giving the decision to FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who was widely believed then to have voted for South Africa.[4] Dempsey was among eight members of the Executive Committee to receive a fax by editors of the German satirical magazine Titanic on Wednesday, the night before the vote, promising a cuckoo clock and Black Forest ham in exchange for voting for Germany. He argued that the pressure from all sides including "an attempt to bribe" him had become too much for him.[5]
Consequently, FIFA decided to rotate the hosting of the final tournaments between its constituent confederations until the selection of the host for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in 2007, when they announced that they will no longer continue with their continental rotation policy (see below).[6]
Bids:
The first World Cup bidding process under continental rotation (the process of rotating hosting of the World Cup to each confederation in turn) was the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[3] This is the first World Cup to be held in Africa. It is the largest sporting event ever held on that continent, as the Olympics have yet to visit Africa. After it was confirmed by FIFA that joint bidding would not be allowed in the future, Libya and Tunisia withdrew both of their bids on May 8, 2004. On May 15, 2004 in Zürich (the seventh time in a row that a host selection has been made there), South Africa, after a narrow loss in the 2006 bidding, defeated perennial candidate Morocco to host, 14 votes to 10. Egypt received no votes.
Results:
- South Africa, 14 votes
- Morocco, 10 votes
- Egypt, 0 votes
Libyawithdrew on May 8, 2004 after joint bidding was disallowedTunisiawithdrew on May 8, 2004 after joint bidding was disallowed
Bid:
FIFA continued its continental rotation procedure by earmarking the 2014 World Cup for South America. FIFA initially indicated that it might back out of the rotation concept,[7] but later decided to continue it through the 2014 host decision, after which it was dropped.
Colombia had expressed interest in hosting the 2014 World Cup,[8] but withdrew.[9] Chile and Argentina had shown some interest as a joint bid,[citation needed] hoping to follow the same path as Korea-Japan 2002, but withdrew after joint bids were disallowed.[vague] Venezuela had expressed interest in hosting the 2014 World Cup, but FIFA didn´t allow its bid.[citation needed] Brazil also expressed interest in hosting the World Cup. CONMEBOL, the South American Football Federation, indicated their preference for Brazil as a host.[10] Brazil was the only nation to submit a formal bid when the official bidding procedure for CONMEBOL member associations was opened in December 2006, as by that time, Colombia, Chile and Argentina had already withdrawn, and Venezuela wasn´t allowed to bid.
Brazil made the first unopposed bid since the initial selection of the 1986 FIFA World Cup (when Colombia was selected as host, but later withdrew due to financial problems). The FIFA Executive Committee confirmed it as the host country in October 30, 2007 by a unanimous decision.[11]
Result:
- Brazil (unanimous, unknown number of votes)
Future World Cup bids
2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups
2018 and 2022 bids | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belgium & Netherlands | |||||
England | |||||
Russia | |||||
Portugal & Spain | |||||
United States | |||||
2022 bids only |
Australia | ||||
Japan | |||||
Qatar | |||||
South Korea | |||||
Cancelled bids |
Indonesia | ||||
Mexico | 2018 & 2022 bid |
2022 bid |
Cancelled bid |
Ineligible in 2018 |
Ineligible in both |
FIFA announced on October 29, 2007 that it will no longer continue with its continental rotation policy, implemented after the 2006 World Cup host selection. The newest host selection policy is that any country may bid for a World Cup, provided that their continental confederation has not hosted either of the past two World Cups. For the 2018 World Cup bidding process, this means that bids from Africa and South America would not be allowed.[12][13] Countries that had, or have announced their interest include Australia, England, Indonesia, Japan, Chile, Qatar, Russia, South Korea, United States, the combined bid of Spain & Portugal and the combined bid of Belgium & Netherlands.[12][14][15] The hosts for both World Cups will be announced by the FIFA Executive Committee on December 2, 2010.
2026 FIFA World Cup
Eight nations have expressed interest in bidding to host the 2026 World Cup. These are Canada,[citation needed] China, Colombia, India,[citation needed] Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Turkey.[citation needed] Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez announced Colombia would bid for hosting rights in March 2010. Canada, China, Costa Rica, India and Turkey's bids could be affected by which Confederation are selected as hosts for 2018 and 2022, due to the newest host rotation policy.[13] The President of the Confederation of African Football, Issa Hayatou also stated that Africa should bid for 2026, citing South Africa, Nigeria, Morrocco, Egypt and Algeria as possibilities. Costa Rica will use his new stadium Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica (2011)
2030 FIFA World Cup
For now only Argentina and Uruguay have expressed in bidding the 2030 world cup as a joint bid. If FIFA uses the newest of the continental rotation policies that will allow South America to bid for the 2030 world cup which also will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first FIFA World Cup, hled in Montevideo. The majority of stadiums for this bid would most likely be in Argentina, which has thirteen stadiums with FIFA's minimum 40, 000 seater capacity. Uruguay has only one stadium meeting FIFA requirements, the 75, 000 seater Centenario.It is likely Argentina would have most of the stadia, but Uruguay would host the final at the Centenario, as none of Agentina's stadia exceed a capacity of 60, 000.
References
- ^ History of 1930 World Cup, BBC. Retrieved on April 13, 2006.
- ^ France 1938, FIFA World Cup site. Retrieved on April 13, 2006.
- ^ a b Host nation of 2010 FIFA World Cup - South Africa, FIFA Media Release, May 15, 2004. Retrieved on January 8, 2006.
- ^ "FIFA president Blatter a big loser with Germany getting 2006 World Cup" by Robert Wagman, SoccerTimes, July 7, 2000. Retrieved on January 8, 2006.
- ^ "German magazine takes credit for bribery hoax", IOL, July 7, 2000. Retrieved on January 8, 2006.
- ^ Australia can host World Cup, by Matthew Hall, published 18 September 2005
- ^ "Games win inspires bid to host 2018 World Cup" by John Goodbody, The Times, November 16, 2005. Retrieved on January 8, 2006.
- ^ BBC News, Colombia bids for 2014 World Cup, 17 July 2006
- ^ FIFA, Brazil confirms bid - Colombia withdraws, 13 April 2007
- ^ Brazil set to host World Cup, BBC. Retrieved on April 11, 2006.
- ^ "Clear declaration to defend the autonomy of sport" (Press release). FIFA. 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
- ^ a b "The end of the rotation policy: the press conference explaining the decision". Fifa.com - News Centre. 2007-10-29.
- ^ a b "Fifa abandons World Cup rotation". BBC SPORT. 2007-10-29.
- ^ "Iberian threat to England's 2018 World Cup bid". ESPNsoccernet. 2007-11-27.
- ^ "Australia Drops Out of Race to Host 2018 World Cup". BBC. 2010-06-10.