Exclusive: Blatter still against joint World Cup bids

By Andrew Warshaw

January 1 - FIFA President Sepp Blatter (pictured) will be more likely to support sole nations bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups than joint bids, insideworldfootball has learned.

Following the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea, fraught with logistical problems, Blatter made it clear he would not be in favour of any more joint bids.

He has softened that position in recent months, under pressure from smaller countries who claim they are unable to stage the World Cup on their own without help from their neighbours.

But it is understood that Blatter is still fundamentally unhappy with the concept of joint bids, bad news for the likes of Spain and Portugal and Netherlands and Belgium, good news for England, Russia and the United States.

“As far as we understand it, if a single country is capable of putting on a World Cup, Blatter would prefer that,” said a senior member of the US team bidding for 2018 or 2022.

“Will that bother some people?

“Quite possibly.”

Such comments have been given further credence by FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke’s interview to a Middle East publication at the recent Abu Dhabi Sponsorship Forum.

Valcke told Emirates Business that the United Arab Emirates, which recently staged the Club World Cup, would have to be part of a wider bid with other Gulf states to ever stand a serious chance of hosting the World Cup itself.

Valcke said it would be difficult for an individual country in the region to go it alone.

“The issue of the UAE hosting the main FIFA World Cup is that you have hot weather and with it being played in June it will be 50 degrees Celsius or more on any day of the matches here,” he said.

His remarks will make particularly interesting reading for those involved in the Qatar bid which is making a huge pitch for 2022.

Last month, former Chelsea and Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon was quoted as saying that football had not grown sufficiently quickly in the Middle East for Qatar to be considered.

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