FIFA inspectors finish their Euro tour in Madrid

A delegation of FIFA inspectors arrived in the Spanish capital on Monday on the last leg of their European tour of bidders to host the 2018/2022 World Cup.

Spain, who won the World Cup for the first time in South Africa this summer, have a joint bid to host the tournament with Portugal.

“We’ve started to work with the organising bid committee of Spain and Portugal, we’ve received a complete presentation and all the requested information has been received by us,” delegation chief Harold Mayne-Nicholls told a press conference.

“These are the last European countries that we’re visiting, the seventh candidate, the United States and Qatar are remaining.

“Our aim is to prepare the most objective report possible for the FIFA executive committee who will decide on December 2 where the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will be played,” added the Chilean.

The inspectors will visit Spanish sites from Tuesday before travelling to Portugal on Wednesday afternoon. The visit will finish on Thursday.

The next World Cup will take place in Brazil in four years time.

The candidates to host the 2018 World Cup are England, Russia, the United States, with joint bids from Spain/Portugal and the Netherlands/Belgium.

Bids for the 2022 events have been received from Australia, England, the Netherlands/Belgium, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Russia, Spain/Portugal and the United States.