What Happens When a Country Bids for a World Cup?

The system involved in how a country bids to host the football world cup has changed over the years, and many football fans and professionals are still unclear as to exactly how the complex process works. The winning host nation is generally selected after a voting process by FIFA’s Congress.

It all starts with a ballot that takes place at least seven years before the winner is scheduled to host the world cup. However, in more recent times, the hosts of the upcoming 2022 world cup, Qatar, were selected at the same time the hosts of the 2018 world cup were chosen. Here is a closer look at what happens when a country makes a bid to host the world cup. 

A brief history of FIFA football world cup hosts

Since the first ever FIFA World Cup tournament was held in Uruguay in 1930, a total of 17 different countries have hosted the event. Germany has made the most bids to host the tournament and was successful in two of the bids, hosting the world cup in 1974 and then again in 2006. Mexico will have hosted the world cup more times than any other nation. They hosted it in 1970 and 1986, and they are also scheduled to host the event in 2026, along with the USA and Canada. 

Some of the other countries that have also hosted the world cup twice include:

• Italy (1934 and 1990)
• Brazil (1950 and 2014)
• USA (1994, and then again in the upcoming 2026 world cup)
• France (1938 and 1998)

The FIFA World Cup has also been hosted by England (1966), Argentina (1978), Spain (1982), Columbia (1986), Japan (2002), Sweden (1958), Chile (1962), Russia (2018), South Africa (2010), South Korea (2002), and Switzerland (1958). 

After a country has bid to host the world cup, several things could happen. It could end up withdrawing the bid, being successful with the bid and winning, or being unsuccessful and getting rejected. Reasons for being rejected could be due to a lack of government funding, insufficient infrastructure, or various other controversies in the nation. Corruption has also caused a stir on a number of occasions, which has left people in the footballing world having very little faith in the current process. 

A Winter World Cup

This year’s tournament began on Sunday, November 20th, at 7 pm (GMT) at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, when host nation Qatar took on Ecuador. It was not only the first FIFA World Cup to take place in the Middle East but it was the first to take place during what is the Global North’s winter. The decision for it to be scheduled for this time of year was taken late, though in plenty of time for the leagues to accommodate it. Major competitions like the Premier League, La Liga, the Champions League, and the Europa League had to be put on hold while the players went away with their national teams to Qatar. In a much disrupted season, it’s unknown how the players (and teams) will be after an intense period of football. While the premier league odds, haven’t changed too much – Man City are still favourites – there may be more surprises. 

The Winter World Cup may be a one-off, or at least not happen for a long time, as the World Cup expands to 48 teams the competition will go on for longer, meaning more disruption to domestic club competitions.

What to remember when betting in the real money mode

If you’re going to gamble in the real money mode, there are several things you need to remember. First of all, in most countries, you need to be at least 18 to bet on the world cup (or any other sport, for that matter). However, in some countries, states, or provinces, the legal minimum age to gamble is 20 or 21. 

Always gamble responsibly, and don’t ever spend more than you can afford. Don’t chase your losses, and, where possible, take advantage of the ‘safer gambling tools’ by setting deposit limits, session time limits, and spending limits. It’s the best bankroll management tool out there today, and it can really help you stay in much better control of how much money you spend.

Written by Alan Spencer