FIFA President Sepp Blatter heaped praise on the city of New York saying that the New Meadowlands Stadium could very well host a World Cup final in the future.
“New York is a great city. It’s an international city,” Blatter said following Mexico’s 5-0 win over the US on Sunday in the Gold Cup final. “It would be a wonderful place to host a World Cup final.”
Blatter, who traveled from Zurich on Saturday to attend the game, toured the 82,500-seat stadium that is being built alongside the current Giants Stadium before the Gold Cup Final. US Soccer President Sunil Gulati, USA Bid Committee Executive Director David Downs and MLS Commissioner Don Garber joined Blatter on the tour.
The $1.6 billion stadium, which will open next year, is included on the list of venues proposed by the US to bring the World Cup to this country in 2018 or 2022. The venue is one of the strongest on the bid committee’s list given the new facility, New York’s proximity to the new stadium (just a 25-minute train ride from Manhattan), the construction of a new rail link (which opened on Sunday) and its history to the sport (Pele played at Giants Stadium with the Cosmos during the 1970’s and the place played host to several matches during the 1994 World Cup).
In an effort to romance Blatter, officials even installed a turf pitch in the new stadium especially for the visit so the FIFA head could shoot a ball into an empty net for the stadium’s first-ever goal. US Soccer said the ball would be displayed in the stadium’s new museum.
Asked what the US’s chances are of hosting the World Cup as early as 2018, Blatter said, “I would like to maintain a rotation with four continents — North and South America as one, Europe, Africa and Asia. But that’s not the criteria. The Executive Committee will study each bid and make a decision.”