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Sunderland 2018 Host City Bid

Thursday 25 Jun 09 - Wednesday 30 Dec 09

Let?s welcome the world!

Sunderland has launched its bid to become a host city as part of England?s 2018 World Cup bid and the people of the North East can show their support for the bid by logging on to www.sunderland2018bid.com and selecting ?Sunderland? as preferred host city.

Voting on line will show The FA that we want Sunderland to host matches in the World Cup in 2018. A ?Back the Bid? book will also be available to be signed in key locations around Sunderland, including the City Library, Civic Centre and the Stadium of Light.

A successful bid would mean qualifying matches during the World Cup finals would be played at the Stadium of Light. However, Sunderland is keen to embrace the whole of North East England in its proposal, ensuring that as many places and people as possible across the region benefit from playing a part in the biggest sporting event in the world.

Sunderland AFC and Sunderland City Council have teamed up to lead the bid for Sunderland to become a host city, and the two organisations are working closely with partners across South Tyneside, County Durham, Tyneside, Teesside and Northumberland to make it a truly regional proposal.

Promotional activities will be taking place across the city in the coming months to support the bid, kicking off with school pupils in Sunderland submitting letters and pictures to show The FA what hosting World Cup matches would mean to them.

Sunderland?s Roker Park famously played host to three games when England were crowned World Champions in 1966 ? the last time the country hosted the tournament ? from the group including Italy, USSR and Chile.

While strong public support alone won?t secure Sunderland?s host city status, it will be taken into consideration by The FA. In addition, successful host cities need to be able to satisfy an extensive range of requirements set by FIFA and the FA, including:

A stadium which can hold a minimum of 40,000 people

Hotel accommodation for teams, officials and fans in the region

Fan parks for supporters

Good travel links with the rest of the country

Training facilities and potential base camps for national teams

An outline bid for Host City status must be submitted by July 8 and FA officials will visit the city on July 14. The final bid must be submitted to The FA by November 6, 2009. In total fifteen cities are competing to be host cities for England?s World Cup 2018 bid.

Event information may be subject to change or cancellation, please check before travelling. Sunderland City Council makes every effort to maintain the accuracy of the information on this website but cannot accept responsibility for any error or alteration to details which may occur.

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