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South Korea submit latest World Cup bid

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-04 11:43

SEOUL -- South Korea entered the race to host either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup with a surprise late bid.

"South Korea has notified FIFA of its intention to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup finals," the Korea Football Association said in a statement issued yesterday, the morning after a deadline for applications set by football's world governing body.

KFA president Cho Chung-yun last month hinted at a bid, but the late announcement came as a surprise.

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"There is a strong chance that either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup will come to Asia, but even if there was a 10 percent chance, we would have to get ready," Cho said in an interview with Sports Chosun newspaper. "We want to make the people excited. It was not a sudden decision, we have been looking into this for some time.

"We all know the effect that 2002 had on the people. If we do host the World Cup once again, the effect will be huge."

South Korea reached the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup, which it co-hosted with Japan.

FIFA will not decide on a host for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments until December next year.

Already confirmed Asian candidates were Japan, Australia, Qatar and Indonesia.

Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed Bin Hammam originally said he'd prefer one strong Asian bid, but is not opposed to having five candidates.

Among the other nations that have said they would submit proposals are the United States, England, Russia and Mexico. Despite FIFA president Sepp Blatter saying the preference would be for single-nation bids, the Spanish FA said it would proceed in a joint bid with Portugal. Netherlands and Belgium were also preparing a joint bid.

Agencies