December 7 – Michael Bloomberg (pictured), the Mayor of New York City, has joined the Board of the USA Bid Committee for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup, taking his place alongside a high-powered group that also includes Arnold Schwarzenegger and Henry Kissinger.
Officials hope that Bloomberg, as Mayor of the United States most populous and diverse city, Bloomberg will play an integral role as a directors as the USA Bid Committee prepares its application and continues its campaign to bring the World Cup back to the country for the first time since 1994.
Bloomberg said: ”New York is the most diverse city on Earth, with football fans from every country, and all of us are firmly behind America’s proposal to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022.
“The United States - and New York City in particular - is an ideal place to host an extraordinary international event that welcomes the world, and to showcase the planet’s most popular sport.
“The United States put on a fantastic tournament in 1994, and we in New York City are ready to host an even more memorable World Cup in 2018 or 2022.”
Several matches during the 1994 World Cup were played across the Hudson River from New York City at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, including the Republic of Ireland’s famous 1-0 victory over Italy.
With the anticipated completion of the New Meadowlands Stadium next to the historic venue it will replace, New York City and Bloomberg have applied for the venue to be included in the bid the USA will submit to FIFA so the city can once again host the world’s football fans.
Bloomberg, ranked as the eighth richest man in America with a fortune of $16 billion (£9.7 billion), was last month elected for his third term as Mayor of New York City.
Sunil Gulati, the chairman of the USA Bid Committee and President of US Soccer, said: ”Mayor Bloomberg’s accomplishments as a businessman, philanthropist and administrator are well respected in this country and worldwide.
“His vast experience will play an instrumental role at many levels of our bid, including the continued development of the legacy and sustainability components of our bid.”
Bloomberg, who also played a high-profile role in New York City’s ill-fated bid to host the 2012 Olympics, which was awarded to London, joins a Board that is already full of personalities and well-known names.
Besides Schwarzenegger, the former Hollywood movie star who is now the Governor of California, and Kissinger, the former US Secretary for State, there are comedian Drew Carey, Landon Donovan, America’s leading all-time goalscorer, and Mia Hamm, the former two-time FIFA Women’s Player of the Year.