England Withdraws 2022 World Cup Bid

England has pulled out of the race to host the 2022 World Cup, following a decision by the US to end its interest in securing the 2018 World Cup.

The US has confirmed that it will concentrate solely on bidding for the 2022 tournament in the wake of its decision, which now means the 2018 event will be held in a European nation.

England bid international president David Dein had previously indicated that it would "almost certainly" pull out of the race for the 2022 tournament if the US withdrew from the 2018 battle. However, England would have been unable to host the 2022 World Cup following the US' withdrawal as continents are not permitted to host successive tournaments.

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said: "We have had an open and constructive dialogue with the USA bid for some time now, after it became apparent that there was a growing movement to stage the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Europe. The announcement of today by the USA bid to focus solely on the 2022 FIFA World Cup is therefore a welcome gesture which is much appreciated by FIFA."

Source: sportsmanagement.co.uk