Fifa has ruled out joint bids to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup, despite the recent global economic downturn.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said FIFA’s executive committee decided that provided there is a viable individual bid, “double candidacies will not be accepted.”
That would affect planned joint bids for the 2018 World Cup from Spain-Portugal and Belgium-Holland. Japan and South Korea co-hosted the 2002 tournament.
Monday is the deadline to submit papers expressing an intent to bid.
Potential bidders include England, Indonesia, Japan, Qatar, Russia, Australia, the United States, China and Mexico.
Blatter made the announcement at the South American Football Confederation’s annual congress on Thursday.
Blatter said FIFA and other confederations were likely to deal the economic crisis, but acknowledged he was worried for the hundreds of smaller clubs around the world.
“We have solidarity in football, which means that those who have more give to those who have less,” he said. “ football is strong—it doesn’t have problems, it has solutions.”
