China Intends to Bid for 2014 World Cup: Official

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, August 15, 2002

China Intends to Bid for 2014 World Cup: Official

China will apply to host the 2014 soccer World Cup finals if the competition returns to Asia that year. "If they decide to hold the World Cup in Asia that year, China will of course take part in the bidding," said Zhang Jilong, vice chairman of the China Football Association.

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China intends to bid for the hosting right of 2014 World Cup if it is to be held in Asia 12 years later, said Zhang Jilong, vice-chairman of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), who has just elected again as vice-chairman of Asia Football Confederation (AFC), at AFC conference held in Kuala Lumpur on August 14.

If the 2014 World Cup is scheduled to be held in Asia, China will of course bid for it, and has made preparation for the big football event, said Zhang.

China has advantage on current facilities and experience of hosting large-scale sports events, Zhang added. The 2003 Women's World Cup is to be held in China and China is also the host of 2004 Asia Cup and 2008 Olympic Games, so "why China can not host the World Cup?"

The only uncertainty is that Australia has expressed clearly to bid for the hosting right of 2014 World Cup, if so, China may have to wait until 2018. Besides, if the World Cup returns to Asia, a few other countries such as Malaysia and Singapore would also bid for it.

FIFA Chairman Joseph Blatter expressed his hope that China would bid for the 2014 Word Cup, saying that China has good sports facilities and human resources, therefore completely capable of hosting World Cup games.

Apart from China, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and several Gulf states were interested in hosting the 2014 World Cup, sources said.

By PD Online Staff Member Li Heng

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