August 30 – A delegation of FIFA inspectors, led by Harold Mayne-Nicholls, arrived in Madrid today on the last leg of their European tour of bidders to host the 2018/2022 World Cup.
Spain, who won the World Cup for the first time in South Africa this summer, have a joint bid to host the tournament with Portugal.
“We’ve started to work with the organising bid committee of Spain and Portugal, we’ve received a complete presentation and all the requested information has been received by us,” said Mayne-Nicholls, the President of the Chilean Football Federation.
“These are the last European countries that we’re visiting, the seventh candidate, the United States and Qatar are remaining.
“Our aim is to prepare the most objective report possible for the FIFA Executive Committee who will decide on December 2 where the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will be played.”
The inspectors will visit Spanish sites from tomorrow before travelling to Portugal on Wednesday (September 1).
Miguel Angel Lopez, the bid’s chief executive, said Madrid and Barcelona would be visited in Spain and Porto and Lisbon in Portugal.
He claimed the joint bid was strong because it included seven elite category stadiums.
The visit is due to finish on Thursday (September 2).
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