South America backs Spain-Portugal bid
Reuters - Wednesday 24 November 2010, 22:51
ASUNCION - South America will vote for the
Spain-Portugal bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals when FIFA
holds its election on December 2, Conmebol's general secretary
Eduardo Deluca said on Wednesday.
"The 10 countries are agreed to give the vote to Spain,"
Deluca told Reuters after a Conmebol executive meeting at its
headquarters in the Paraguayan capital.
Deluca, who did not elaborate, said the meeting had not
discussed support for bids for the 2022 finals which will also
be voted on at FIFA headquarters in Zurich next week.
The joint Spanish and Portuguese bid will be competing
against three others: England, Russia and Netherlands-Belgium.
Australia, the United States, Qatar, Japan and South Korea
are vying to stage the 2022 finals.
"Spain for South Americans is like the mother country, and
on top of that we have a more than friendly relationship with
the Royal Spanish (Football) Federation which is really one more
of us," Deluca said.
"We feel in Spain like in our own home," he told reporters
later.
When Spain, newly crowned as world champions in South Africa
in July, played a friendly against Argentina in Buenos Aires in
August there was speculation locally about the visit having a
political aspect with the 2018 World Cup in mind.
Brazil will be staging the next finals in 2014.