Tampa's dream of hosting the World Cup in 2022 dashed by FIFA
Soccer organization gives games to Qatar over U.S.
Posted: 12/02/2010
TAMPA - The FIFA Executive Committee has awarded the 2022 World Cup tournament to the country of Qatar. The announcement was made Thursday morning at FIFA Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
The United States was challenging Qatar, Australia, South Korea and Japan for the right to host the 2022 Cup Finals. Tampa was one of 18 finalist cities in the U.S. that would have competed to host the tournament if the U.S. had been selected.
Qatar is the first Middle Eastern country to host the World Cup. They are also the smallest country (slightly smaller than Connecticut) to host the event.
The last time a World Cup was held in the U.S. was in 1994. Nine cities hosted the event and set a total attendance record of nearly 3.6 million, the highest in World Cup history.
Russia was selected by FIFA on Thursday to host the 2018 World Cup.
Copyright 2010 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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