England's 2018 World Cup Bid

Liverpool’s proposed New Anfield stadium will also be considered in any England bid, providing it is constructed in time. The projected development, nearby to Liverpool’s existing Anfield home in Stanley Park, was scheduled to open in 2006 but was put on hold due to financial problems—a delay which, according to a club spokesman, could “progress the proposals for the stadium to increase its capacity to 73,000 seats.”

Building work on Aston Villa’s Villa Park to expand it to 51,000 seats and the construction of a 55,000-seater ‘City of Birmingham’ stadium for Villa’s rivals Birmingham could see World Cup football hosted in the Midlands.

Fifa rules, however, state that only one city can have two host venues for a World Cup tournament, which will almost certainly be London if England’s bid is successful. Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, another recently-constructed stadium which holds 60,000 people, would be a shoo-in to host games later in the tournament,

One of Newcastle United’s St. James’ Park (current capacity 52,387) and Sunderland’s Stadium of Light (49,000) will almost certainly come under consideration, especially with the former’s status as a host of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Further afield, representatives from cities such as Sheffield, Leeds and Bristol have been asked to submit applications for consideration. Such decisions will, however, rely on development—another Fifa directive requires a minimum 40,000 capacity, with Elland Road (39,401) and Sheffield’s Hillsborough (39,814) falling agonisingly short of the minimum required.

Yorkshire’s most serious contender to hold a World Cup game, meanwhile, appears to be Bramall Lane, home of Sheffield United, which currently holds around 33,000 seats. Planning permission for a new Kop has been submitted, however, which will increase the capacity by a further 3,000, and possible redevelopment of the club’s South stand has also been discussed to further boost the capacity above the required level.

Sepp Blatter, president of the game’s world governing body Fifa, threw his weight behind an England bid when asked about their chances, saying: “I would say yes, they should bid—it is the homeland of football.”

With Spain & Portugal rumoured to be England’s main European rival for the honour, Fifa’s 24-man executive committee will announce the winning bid in December next year—when, after a prolonged global sabbatical, football could finally be coming home.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?