Russia and Qatar win World Cup hosting race

(GSM) – Russia have won the race to host the 2018 World Cup ahead of bids from England, Netherlands/Belgium and Spain/Portugal while Qatar will be hosting the 2022 World Cup.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter made the announcement at Zurich’s Messezentrum.

Each campaign presented its bid in half-an-hour with Alexei Sorokin, the Russian bid’s CEO, beginning by quoting Winston Churchill’s famous description of Russia as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”

He said: “We can understand this perception that foreigners have but it’s a Russia…that no longer exists.”

The defeat comes despite an impressive presentation by England that was described by Blatter as “excellent and remarkable”.

Meanwhile Qatar beat rival bids from Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States and will be the hosts in 2022.