By David Owen in Istanbul
April 14 – Turkey may bid to stage the 2026 World Cup. Orhan Gorbon, manager of Turkey’s current bid for the 2016 European Football Championship, told insideworldfootball exclusively that a campaign for the 2026 tournament was part of a personal “10-year plan”.
This would also feature another attempt by Istanbul to win the right to stage the Summer Olympic Games - in 2020.
Though he stressed that the three-pronged assault on the world’s biggest sporting events was a personal plan rather than an officially-sanctioned strategy, the fact that such a high-ranking official is talking openly in such terms suggests there is a reasonable chance of the bids materialising.
Turkey is about to embark on a government-financed near €1 billion (£883 million/$1.3 billion) stadium-building spree, as outlined in its Euro 2016 campaign.
The timing of any future World Cup bid may be partly contingent on the outcome of the present hotly contested race for the right to stage the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Article 76 of the FIFA Statutes states that “as a rule, tournaments may not be held on the same continent on two successive occasions”.
A European World Cup host in 2022 would probably therefore preclude a Turkish bid for 2026, although the Statutes also say that the world governing body’s Executive Committee “shall issue guidelines in this connection”.
In any case, Europe is now widely expected to stage the 2018 competition, apparently leaving the way clear for Turkey and other European countries to bid for 2026.
According to Gorbon, a four-year gap between staging the European Championships and the Olympics would be “very appropriate”.
“I think this [Euro 2016] bid is like an education process for the Turkish people,” he said.
“We are understanding what this kind of event can bring to the country…
“I think the more you deal with major events, the more you understand the benefits.”
Contact the writer of this story at zib.s1734800111emage1734800111htedi1734800111sni@n1734800111ewo.d1734800111ivad1734800111
Related stories
April 2010: Exclusive – We want paradise in stadiums, not hell, says Turkish Euro 2016 bid leader
April 2010: Turkey has confidence in UEFA that Euro 2016 contest will be fair
April 2010: UEFA begin inspection of Turkey bid for Euro 2016
January 2010: Turkish Euro 2016 bid gets major investment boost
December 2009: Fenerbahce angry over Euro 2016 snub