Chances of the World Cup returning to the United States any time soon could depend on the outcome of a FIFA executive committee in November, on the eve of the 2010 World Cup qualifying draw in Durban, South Africa.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Wednesday that the rotation system, by which the World Cup is awarded to countries from different confederations on a rotating basis, would be maintained, and CONCACAF, of which the USA is a member, would theoretically be first in line when the new rotation begins with the 2018 World Cup. South Africa is set to host the 2010 World Cup, and the 2014 World Cup will be played in South America, probably Brazil.
“We have decided in the FIFA executive committee that rotation will be installed, and we have made rotation until and including 2014,” said Blatter, speaking in London, where he was meeting Gordon Brown, the British Chancellor. “The executive committee must take a decision whether the rotation should include all the confederations, in which case the 2018 World Cup should be in CONCACAF.”
Blatter added that the FIFA executive committee could also decide that the Americas — South America and CONCACAF — should be considered as one, in which case the USA would seemingly be out of the loop. (Blatter has said the USA could be considered for 2014 if a suitable South American candidate did not emerge.)
Mexico and Canada are also considered host possibilities if FIFA were to award the World Cup to a CONCACAF nation. England and China are both expected to be heavyweight contenders when the rotation system next takes the World Cup to Europe and Asia.