May 4 – Japan has dropped its bid to host the 2018 World Cup and instead concentrate on its campaign for the 2022 tournament, the country’s Football Association President Motoaki Inukai (pictured right) said.
Inukai, who is also the head of Japan’s bidding committee, believes 2018 was no longer an option as it appears FIFA is only considering a European candidate for that competition.
“It seems that FIFA is set on returning the World Cup to Europe for 2018,” said Inukai, who along with Sports Minister Tatsuo Kawabata spoke to FIFA President Sepp Blatter yesterday during a visit to Zurich.
“President Blatter told us that European countries would be battling it out for 2018 and that it would be a wiser choice to go for 2022.”
Inukai said he would make a formal announcement after explaining the move at a bidding committee meeting on May 11.
It leaves Australia and the United States as the only non-European bidders for 2018.
England and Russia are the favourites to be awarded the World Cup that year with Netherlands and Belgium and Spain and Portugal putting forward joint bids.
If the event is awarded to a European country then for 2022, besides Australia and the US, Japan will also be facing opposition from Qatar and South Korea.
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