The 810 Zone on the Plaza will host a watch party for FIFA’s announcement of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup host countries on Thursday, December 2. Doors will open at 8:15 a.m. CT and coverage of the announcement will begin at 8:30 a.m. CT. The official announcement will be made by FIFA President Joseph Blatter and broadcast live from in Zurich, Switzerland between 9:00 – 9:30 a.m. CT on Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Deportes, ESPN SportsCenter, ESPN Deportes, CNN International and Univision.
"December 2nd could be the most important day in American soccer for the next 25 years," Kansas City/USA Host City Bid Committee Director David Ficklin said. "The first time the US hosted the World Cup in 1994, it gave birth to our professional league (Major League Soccer) and created the foundation for the phenomenal growth the sport has experienced since then. We're confident that a second opportunity to host in 2022 would be just as powerful, and would continue to cement the sport’s presence across our nation."
The event will be open to the public and is co-sponsored by Sporting Kansas City, the Kansas City World Cup Bid Committee and the Kansas City Sports Commission.
Kansas City is one of 18 proposed host cities submitted to FIFA as part of the United States bid to host the 2022 World Cup. All games in Kansas City would be played at the new Arrowhead Stadium. Should the U.S. be awarded the 2022 World Cup, each host city is guaranteed a minimum of four matches in an event that is estimated to have an economic impact ranging from $400 to $600 million for each host city and the creation of 5,000 to 8,000 jobs.
The United States Bid Committee, led by Executive Director David Downs, U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati and honorary chairman Bill Clinton, will make a 30-minute presentation to the FIFA Executive Committee at 10 a.m. CT on December 1st in Switzerland, prior to the Committee’s vote at 7 a.m. CT on December 2nd to determine host countries for 2018 and 2022. The U.S. is up against Qatar, South Korea, Japan and Australia for the opportunity to host in 2022.
The FIFA World Cup, hosted by South Africa this summer and granted to Brazil for 2014, is a month-long tournament held every four years and is considered the most widely viewed sporting event in the world with a global cumulative television audience of over 26 billion.
Kansas City soccer fans are encouraged to visit www.gousabid.com/kc or text “Kansas City” to 22442 to join the nearly 32,000 signatures on the petition to show Kansas City’s support. This year’s highly successful Summer of Soccer saw over 30,000 soccer fans gather for World Cup watch parties in the Kansas City Power & Light District and a new attendance record set for a soccer match in Kansas City when 52,424 turned out to see Sporting Kansas City upset English powerhouse Manchester United 2-1 at the New Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, July 25.
