Newcastle and Sunderland win World cup football bid

Dec 17 2009 by Adam Jupp and Dan Warburton, The Journal

THE North East was yesterday guaranteed World Cup football if England is successful in winning the right to stage the 2018 tournament. Both Sunderland and Newcastle Gateshead learned they had been selected as host cities as part of the Football Association’s application to host the soccer spectacular. It is estimated at least £58m will be injected into the regional economy as a result of the festival of football being held here, with images of the North East beamed to an estimated worldwide TV audience of 2.4 billion in 240 countries. Dan Warburton and Adam Jupp were with the Sunderland and Newcastle Gateshead bid teams when the news was announced

CHEERS rang round St James’ Park as Newcastle Gateshead was named a World Cup host city.

The Football Association (FA) yesterday announced games will be held on Tyneside if England is awarded the 2018 tournament.

Officials from the Newcastle Gateshead bid team packed into Shearer’s Bar inside the stadium as the FA revealed its list of cities.

And they got the news they wanted as the so-called twin cities were included in the line-up, along with neighbours Sunderland and a host of other locations across the country.

Ex-Newcastle United midfielder Peter Beardsley, who played in the World Cup for England, led the celebrations.

He said: “Hosting World Cup football in Newcastle Gateshead would be an amazing experience for everyone, even if you’re a football fan or not.

“I’m so happy that people in the region will have the chance to see some of the icons of football playing in their cherished stadium.

“St James’ Park rightly deserves to be one of the venues selected and I’m proud to have played my part in bringing World Cup football to Tyneside.”

Newcastle Gateshead’s success comes after seven months of hard work preparing bid documents and being interviewed by FA officials.

They have had to identify which hotels would be used to house FIFA delegates and where fan parks would be set up. It is estimated hosting the tournament in the region will provide a £58m cash boost, with tens of thousands of fans flocking into the area during the month-long event.

Rachel Anderson, head of member relations at the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) said: “It is absolutely tremendous that both Sunderland and Newcastle Gateshead have won the chance to host matches at the 2018 World Cup.

Click here to replay the live blog of yesterday's announcement