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Japan ready to bid for both World Cup, Olympics

9 Comments

Japan's soccer chief has vowed to bid for the World Cup finals in 2018 or 2022, despite Tokyo's candidacy to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, press reports said Monday.

"We want to go for it," Football Association president Motoaki Inukai was quoted as saying on FIFA's weekend decision to hold simultaneous bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Japan co-hosted the 2002 finals with neighboring South Korea.

FIFA, the world's football governing body, last year abolished a system under which the host nation of the four-yearly premier football event was rotated among six continents.

"That means everybody is welcome to bid and Japan is expected to do so," Inukai said on the sidelines of the Club World Cup final in Yokohama.

"If Tokyo hosts the Olympics, it will help upgrade stadiums and training centers," Inukai added. Tokyo's National Stadium, which hosted some Club World Cup matches, and other major venues in Japan would need upgrades for World Cup matches.

Inukai said his association would make a final decision on its World Cup bid after September next year when the International Olympic Committee picks the 2016 Olympic host among Tokyo, Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.

The 2018 and 2022 World Cup venues will be decided in December 2010.

Inukai earlier said that a World Cup bid would in no way hamper Tokyo's hopes of a second Summer Olympics. It hosted the 1964 Games.

"The Olympics and the World Cup are totally different," Inukai said last week. "Some people may say it will be too much if Japan hosts both. But Japan has merits. Japan is safe and spectators are well-mannered."

FIFA made the decision on the simultaneous bidding at a meeting here on Saturday.

It means that should a bidder for 2018 be unsuccessful then they would be able to enter the vote for 2022 to be held immediately afterwards, so long as the 2018 hosts are not from the same continent.

The bidding is open to everyone, although African and South American countries are not allowed to enter in 2018 as those continents will have held the World Cup in 2010 (South Africa) and 2014 (Brazil).

© Wire reports

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

9 Comments
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The words No and Chance spring to mind.

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nice to have a dream but shame to waste all that time money and effort

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Japan has lots of money so I believe they can win the bid.

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I think they are begining to read the writing on the wall about their chances for 2016 olympics

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It will be interesting to watch the battle between England, Australia, Benelux, Spain/Portugal, Russia, China, Qatar, USA, Mexico AND Japan to host 2018 or 2022 World Cup. I would like to see Australia hosting 2018. Their energy and joy during Germany 2006 were contagious. But any of these nations, and their people, deserve to host it. In my opinion, after 2002, Japan realized it was good to take part in world activities other than economic ones.

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Japan won't get the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Japan won't get the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

Japan won't get the 2018 Soccer World Cup.

I'd say the 2022 Soccer World Cup is a distinct possibility. That would be just in time to demolish a bunch of stadiums that were built for the 2002 World Cup, and, in many cases, have had little use since then, but have cost the taxpayers bundles for the construction and maintenance.

I love sports, but when the system to acquire the rights to hold such competitions in one's country requires the money and efforts it does a decade or more in advance, then I'd say this is one crazy world.

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waste of money. FIFA wont go back to Japan when it was just recently played in Japan..

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Japan will win the bid. Japan is so inteligent. ITS not a wast of time or money

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Don´t get me wrong. I love Japan but not every aspect of it. The Olympics is a waste of money. Because the Tokyo Olympics is an Ishihara idea I hope IOC gives it to some other city and comes with a public statement to why Tokyo does not deserve to get the Olympics .It´s the xenophobia, stupid!

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