China to consider hosting 2018 Finals

LONDON - CHINA is considering a bid to stage the 2018 World Cup Finals, said Fifa president Sepp Blatter.

It had hosted the inaugural women's World Cup in 1991, and will also host this year's tournament from Sept 10-30.

As for its men's national team, they made only one appearance in the World Cup Finals - in 2002, when Japan and South Korea co-staged the event.

Said Blatter yesterday: 'You can already see what they did with the women's World Cup, they turned it into a great show.

'But I'm not a prophet. I can't see where the World Cup is going.'

The Fifa president was in London for a meeting with British Sports Minister Richard Caborn, with a possible World Cup bid by England on the agenda.

However, he warned that there is no guarantee that the 2018 World Cup will be held in Europe.

The United States and Australia, along with China, have also indicated their intention to bid.

The world governing body's executive committee will decide in December whether the World Cup should rotate among the different continents, or if it should be open to all bidders.

Said Blatter: 'The executive committee must take a decision whether the rotation should include all the confederations, in which case the 2018 World Cup should be in North or Central America.

'They could also decide that the Americas should be considered as one. Then the rotation would go to Asia.

'It may also be that the majority of the executive committee, where you have eight European representatives out of 24, can find the 13 votes needed for the World Cup to return to Europe.'

He added that his personal inclination was for rotation to continue to North America, with the US, Mexico and Canada all capable of hosting the tournament.

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