Blow to Dutch 2018 World Cup hosting hopes

story by Dutch News

Technical reports into the bids to stage the 2018 World Cup will be published on Thursday and the joint Dutch-Belgian bid has been marked down for failing to provide a number of government guarantees, according to British media reports.

The Daily Telegraph, which describes the Dutch-Belgian bid as an outsider, says both the England and Iberian bid have been rated low-risk in an assessment of 17 categories.

‘Russia is understood to have been rated ‘medium risk’ overall, alongside outsider Holland-Belgium,’ the paper says.

Warning

According to the BBC, the Fifa inspectors say the Dutch-Belgian bid 'faces criticism over hotel rooms, the joint hosting concept, training sites and team hotels, with government guarantees a major concern'.

In October it emerged world football body Fifa had written to the Netherlands and Belgium to warn the two countries not to deviate from terms and conditions deemed necessary to stage the event.

The six page letter, from Fifa’s head of legal affairs, then outlines a number of points or clauses which it says are missing from the bid, or are not in line with Fifa’s demands.

Harry Been, who is heading the Dutch Belgian bid said the report is in line with expectations.

'The points of criticism are not new to us,' he told the Volkskrant.

Fifa is due to announce its decision on December 2.