Russia to host 2018 FIFA World Cup, Qatar gets 2022

Russia on Thursday won the right to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup while Qatar will stage the 2022 tournament. The decisions were announced here by Joseph Blatter, the president of football's world governing body FIFA, following a secret ballot by 22 members of its executive committee. Russia won the vote ahead of rival bidders England, Portugal/Spain and Belgium/Netherlands. It will be the first time either Russia or Qatar will stage a World Cup. "Let us make history together," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said.
Qatar, which is hosting the 2011 Asian Cup in January, won ahead of rival bidders Australia, the US, South Korea and Japan. It becomes the first Arab country, the first from the Middle East and the Gulf region and the first Muslim nation to host football's biggest tournament. The vote came after the final 30-minute presentations by the 2018 candidates. The 2022 candidates made their presentations Wednesday. The executive committee, led by Blatter, consists of eight vice presidents and 15 members, but Thursday's vote was made by 22 instead of 24 members after the suspension of Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii over corruption allegations.