Japan first up as FIFA inspects World Cup hopefuls

Just a week after the din of celebratory vuvuzela horns died down in South Africa, fresh World Cup fever is gripping nine candidates battling to host the showpiece in 2018 or 2022.

The sport’s world governing body FIFA on Monday kicks off a two-month inspection tour of Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Netherlands-Belgium, Russia, England, Spain-Portugal, the United States and Qatar in that order.

The first stop, Japan, is counting on its impressive organisational, financial and technological power to win the 2022 event. It co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with South Korea after staging one summer and two winter Olympics.

Japan has promised to treat football fans worldwide to ultra-realistic live three-dimensional broadcasts of matches.

Under the six-billion-dollar “Universal Fan Fest” project, matches would be viewed in 3-D by 360 million people at nearly 400 select stadiums in FIFA’s 208 member countries.

Japan’s bid also features a plan to invite 6,000 children from the 208 countries to watch matches live, participate in football clinics and learn about environmental issues and world peace with trips to the atomic-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“FIFA at its working level has rated Japan’s proposals as outstanding and unique,” said Japan Football Association president Motoaki Inukai, who heads the country’s bid committee.

“But it’s a different story how the voting FIFA executives are viewing our proposals.”

A team of around six FIFA-appointed experts, led by Chilean Football Federation president Harold Mayne-Nicholls, will visit the candidate countries to inspect stadiums and other facilities.

The panel starts a four-day visit to Japan with a helicopter inspection of the site in the western megacity of Osaka for an 83,000-seat stadium which would host the opening match and final.

The team will also tour another stadium and attend a presentation on Japan’s bid in Tokyo.

It will draw up technical inspection reports on the feasibility of each bid for FIFA’s 24 executives who will choose the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts on December 2 in Zurich.

Japan, South Korea, Australia and Qatar — all members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) — have submitted bids for 2022 only.

England, Russia and the United States are bidding to host either 2018 or 2022, as are Spain-Portugal and the Netherlands-Belgium. If Europe gets 2018, the continent will be excluded from the 2022 race.

Japan had originally sought to host either 2018 or 2022. But in May it abandoned its 2018 bid to focus on 2022 after learning Europe has a strong chance of hosting the World Cup after Brazil 2014.

AFC president Mohamed Bin Hammam last month underlined the body’s determination to see an Asian country win 2022.

“We have four countries who are very capable of hosting the World Cup,” he said.

“Asia will put its best foot forward.”

The statement prompted Australia to withdraw its 2018 bid and focus on hosting the 2022 tournament.