The U.S. is becoming a SoccerNation

U.S. Soccer News: Days Before the Final Decision Will be Made, the U.S. Gets Serious About Being a SoccerNation.

UNITED STATES SENATE JOINS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN SUPPORTING U.S. BID TO HOST 2022 FIFA WORLD CUP

The USA Bid Committee’s campaign to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup received the full support of Congress when the United States Senate joined the House of Representatives in passing a resolution to bring the tournament back to the United States for the first time since 1994. 

The House passed the resolution on Wednesday, Nov. 17, and sent it on to the Senate for today’s vote. The resolution was introduced on Sept. 29, 2010 by the four co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Soccer Caucus – Representatives Chris Van Hollen (MD), Dave Reichert (WA), George Miller (CA) and Mary Bono Mack (CA) – and was co-sponsored by over 40 other Members of Congress. 

In late September, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi, joined the team to help bring the FIFA World Cup to United States in 2018 or 2022.  Many other industry leaders and celebrities, like Brad Pitt, joined the effort as well.  As Nooyi said, “We support soccer all over the world, and I am truly honored to join this talented group to try to bring this wonderful event to the United States.” The World Cup captures the attention of the entire global community and creates memories that last for generations. And the U.S. 'does' World Cup better than most countries, as our 1994 World Cup demonstrated.

The U.S. will make its presentation to the FIFA Executive Committee for the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ on Wednesday, Dec. 1, at 11 a.m. ET (5 p.m. local time in Zurich). The FIFA Executive Committee will vote the following day, Thursday, Dec. 2, with the announcement of the 2018 and 2022 hosts broadcast live at 10 a.m. ET (4 p.m. local time in Zurich) on fifa.com. 

House Concurrent Resolution 327 complements the government guarantees submitted earlier to FIFA by: 

Expressing support for the USA Bid Committee’s efforts to bring the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ to the United States; 

Encouraging the relevant Federal agencies to continue supporting the USA Bid Committee in its efforts to meet all requirements for the United States to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup™; 

Affirming that the Congress stands prepared to consider requests by the President for support related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ if the United States is selected to host the event; and, 

Reiterating the many reasons why the United States would be an ideal host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup™. 

The co-chairs of the Congressional Soccer Caucus last year led efforts on Capitol Hill to congratulate the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team on securing a berth in the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. A resolution to this effect was accompanied by a letter to every Member of Congress, encouraging them to support efforts to bring the FIFA World Cup™ back to the United States for the first time since 1994. The Congressional Soccer Caucus also promotes soccer as a means for building communities, developing healthy lifestyles, and cultivating leadership and teamwork skills.