U.S. Soccer Federation eyes World Cup bid for 2018 or 2022

More than 800,000 people have currently pledged that the game is in them, and they hope the rest of the country believes so as well.

Those who have pledged hope that through the petition, a campaign titled “The Game is in US” and the work of the website gousabid.com, the United States will be able to host another World Cup in the near future.

The U.S. hosted the 1994 event and snagged an attendance record of 3,587,538 as well as an average match attendance just shy of 70,000.

On May 14, the plan for another U.S. World Cup went into motion as the U.S. Soccer Federation officially made its bid to FIFA to host either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.
Supporters hope that another World Cup will spark more U.S. soccer momentum, like the 1994 one inspired the creation of U.S. professional league Major League Soccer. U.S. Bid Commitee member and actor Morgan Freeman agrees.

“As (Nelson) Mandela said once, ‘Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, the power to unite people that little else has,’” Freeman said in a press release. “I have seen the power that sport, and in particular soccer, can have on individuals around the world, and that is why I am so honored to represent and support the United States through the conclusion of this noble effort to bring the tournament back to our country.”

However, the Americans are up against some staunch competition as England, Russia, Portugal and Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands have also placed bids for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Australia, Qatar, Japan and South Korea have also placed bids for the 2022 event.

Since formalizing the World Cup bid, many famous and influential Americans have begun supporting the USSF.

Some of these include former President Bill Clinton, President and CEO of AEG Tim Leiweke, boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya, comedian Drew Carey, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Washington Post CEO Katharine Weymouth. Most recently, actors Brad Pitt and Freeman joined the cause.

Pitt, who supports many charities and philanthropic organizations worldwide, said he was honored to be involved with a sport that is viewed and appreciated around the world.

“Soccer is a truly global sport, and the opportunity to join the effort to have the U.S. host the world’s greatest sporting event again is a great honor,” Pitt said. “FIFA has set a world standard for using sport as a tool for positive social change, and I’m proud to be associated with a United States World Cup Bid that has so ardently adhered to the principles established by FIFA.”

The U.S. bid also includes 18 candidates for host cities, many of which who were involved in the 1994 World Cup. This includes Indianapolis, along with Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville Tenn., New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C.

The U.S. bid also has another force behind it: Fox Soccer Channel joined as “an official partner in support of the organization’s efforts to bring the FIFA World Cup to the United States in 2018 or 2022,” U.S. Soccer announced June 28.

“The challenge and privilege of hosting a FIFA World Cup is enormous, as we are seeing here in South Africa,” said Sunil Gulati, chairman of the USA Bid Committee and president of U.S. Soccer. “The same can be said for the bidding process.

Corporate support is an important component to a successful bid, and now we’re very fortunate to count Fox Soccer Channel as a friend and official partner of our endeavor to bring the FIFA World Cup to the United States in 2018 or 2022.”

Fox Soccer Channel is one of the leading channels for soccer programming in the United States and Canada and reached a deal last year with the UEFA Champions league to broadcast matches on Fox Soccer Channel. ESPN previously had the broadcasting rights to the Champions League.

With the addition of the Fox channel, the U.S. bid has strengthened, but the USSF will have to wait out the bidding process to determine if the campaign is successful.
FIFA will announce the host bid winners December 2, 2010. Until then, the USSF remains optimistic.

“We would be honored to play host to the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup,” the U.S. bid website said, “for the fan, for the Game, for the World.”