U.S. Soccer News: UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASSES RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF U.S. BID TO HOST 2022 FIFA WORLD CUP

The United States House of Representatives passed a resolution yesterday to recognize and support the efforts of the USA Bid Committee to earn the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup™. 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 co-sponsored by over 40 other Members of Congress.  (For more detailed information on the Legislative Digest, click here.)

“We welcome today’s House resolution as another example of the overwhelming endorsement our bid effort has received from all levels of government throughout the process,” said Sunil Gulati, Chairman of the USA Bid Committee and President of U.S. Soccer. “This resolution further reinforces our country’s commitment to FIFA that we will meet all requirements for a World Cup hosted in the United States.” 

Chris Van Hollen's statement on H.Con.Res. 327, Supporting Efforts to Bring the 2022 FIFA World Cup to the United States stated "Mister Speaker, with the excitement of this year’s FIFA World Cup competition in South Africa and the achievements of the U.S Men’s National Team still fresh in our minds, I rise to support efforts to bring the world’s most popular sporting event – the FIFA World Cup competition – back to our country."  Van Hollen continued with "In 1994, our nation hosted the FIFA World Cup tournament.  That tournament still holds the record for the highest attendance in history, with an overall attendance of 3.6 million.  It also spurred the development and popularity of soccer in this country, leading to the creation of Major League Soccer, the United States’ national first division professional soccer league." Van Hollen represents Maryland’s 8th Congressional District.

In May, the USA Bid Committee submitted all of the signed government guarantees to FIFA as part of its bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ in the United States. 

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 inZurich). 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.