The United States is considering bidding for the right to host the 2018 World Cup, according to U.S. Soccer Federation president, Sunil Galati.
A bid by the US could seriously undermine England’s hopes of hosting the tournament, claims Galati.
England face the USA at Wembley on Wednesday night before heading to Port of Spain to face Trinidad and Tobago – friendly matches that some have regarded as a sweetener to garner votes from the CONCACAF region for the FA’s 2018 bid.
But Galati revealed that any such hopes could be thwarted if the USA entered the bidding.
“We will make a decision in the next two or three months, but we are looking at it very seriously,” Galati said.
“I can’t think of any reasons why we wouldn’t bid for the tournament. We’ve done this before and been successful at doing it. The bid process has become very competitive and whether playing a game in Trinidad has anything to do with that I am not sure.
“But I think the FA are more sophisticated than to think they are going to get Jack Warner’s (FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF president) vote on the back of playing one game. There aren’t any CONCACAF bidders at this point and Mr. Warner is the president of CONCACAF.”
Galati also claimed that the United States could guarantee to host a successful tournament.
“We are determined to finish what we started in 1994,” he said. “We are the most diversified nation in the world. If Nigeria and Ghana played each other, it would sell out. If Australia played Costa Rica, it would sell out. When we staged a third-placed playoff between Sweden and Bulgaria in 1994 there were 85,000 people there.
“My point is that this is not a question of fearing any country. We think we’d have a great bid, great structure and a great landscape.”
