On 2 December 2010, it will be decided which countries will be hosting the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. This is the first time ever that a simultaneous decision will be made concerning two championships, thus enabling the host countries more time to organize successful events. The rotation system that had previously been adopted, whereby the continent was already determined in advance, has been scrapped. This means that even the continents where the 2018 and 2022 World Cup Finals will be held are still unknown. The only criterion is that the World Cup cannot be held on the same continent two years in a row.

The following countries have put themselves forward to host the tournaments.

2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup Candidates:
Belgium/the Netherlands, Japan, Russia, Spain/Portugal, the UK and the USA

2022 FIFA World Cup Candidates only:
Qatar, South Korea, Australia

FIFA Executive Committee:
The twenty-four members of the FIFA Executive Committee will decide which countries will be hosting each of the World Cup championships. These members are appointed by FIFA and come from countries around the globe:

President
Joseph S. BLATTER, Switzerland

Senior Vice President
Julio H. GRONDONA, Argentina

Vice President
Issa HAYATOU, Cameroon
CHUNG Mong Joon, South Korea
Jack A. WARNER, Trinidad & Tobago
Ángel María VILLAR LLONA, Spain
Michel PLATINI, France
Reynald TEMARII, Tahiti
Geoff THOMPSON, UK

Members
Michel D’HOOGHE, Belgium
Ricardo Terra TEIXEIRA, Brazil
Mohamed BIN HAMMAM, Qatar
Senes ERZIK, Turkey
Chuck BLAZER, USA
Worawi MAKUDI, Thailand
Nicolás LEOZ, Paraguay
Junji OGURA, Japan
Amos ADAMU, Nigeria
Marios LEFKARITIS, Cyprus
Jacques ANOUMA, Côte d’Ivoire
Franz BECKENBAUER, Germany
Rafael SALGUERO, Guatemala
Hany ABO RIDA, Egypt
Vitaliy MUTKO, Russia

The voting procedures to be adopted on 2 December 2010 are still unknown. They will however involve a majority decision. Therefore, it is vital that the candidates, including The HollandBelgium Bid, succeed in convincing at least thirteen members of the FIFA Executive Committee. It is also apparent that these decision-makers need to have a second and third choice ready, in case their first choice does not make it past the first vote.

Important Milestones:
Procedures up until the vote in December 2010 include the following milestones:

• 2 February 2009: Countries can put themselves forward as potential candidates before this date.
• 16 February 2009: FIFA sends interested countries a registration form
• 16 March 2009: Completed registration forms should be returned to FIFA by this date.
• April 2009: Countries receive the official documents for their bids
• 11 December 2009: Signed bid agreements should be returned to FIFA by this date.
• 14 May 2010: Candidate countries should submit a Bid Book to FIFA by this date. This is a comprehensive document (approx. 1,000 pages) in which candidates explain to FIFA how they intend to organize the World Cup in the event that they win their bid. This contains a lot of technical information about hotels, infrastructure, stadiums and the environment.
• Late 2010: A FIFA delegation visits the candidate countries to perform a technical inspection of the stadiums and other facilities.
• 2 December 2010: The twenty-four members of the FIFA Executive Committee meet to decide which countries will be hosting the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.