Carlisle United's dream of staging World Cup action moved a major step closer yesterday (WEDS) when Sunderland was chosen as one of the Candidate Host Cities for England's 2018/2022 bid.
United's Brunton Park ground is among five satellite venues Sunderland has included in its official bid as a training facility for one of the international squads who would play their World Cup games at the Wearsiders' Stadium of Light.
Sunderland's home was one of 17 current or future stadia in 12 cities across the country selected as suitable venues by the Football Association, who rejected bids from Derby, Leicester and Hull.
Carlisle United joint owner John Nixon said: "Obviously, there is still some way to go before a final decision is reached but we are delighted that the FA have chosen Sunderland as a host city as we are very much part of their plans.
"The Sunderland bid team were very impressed with what we had to offer, not just as a footbal club but as a city, when they visited us earlier this year. We will be keeping our fingers crossed as it would be an unbelievable boost to the whole of Cumbria if we were able to welcome an international team and their nation's supporters during the World Cup finals."
FIFA will decide in December 2010 which nations will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The fnal list of venues for the 2018 tournament will be decided in 2013.
Besides Sunderland, England's chosen host cities include Newcastle-Gateshead (St James's Park) as well as London (Wembley, Emirates and the Olympic Stadium or Tottenham's new ground), Manchester (Old Trafford and City of Manchester Stadium), Liverpool (Anfield or new Anfield), Leeds (Elland Road), Sheffield (Hillsborough), Birmingham (Villa Park), Nottingham (new Nottingham Forest ground), Bristol (new Ashton Vale ground) and Plymouth (Home Park), along with Milton Keynes (Stadium:MK), home of Carlisle's fellow League One outfit MK Dons.
Former Sunderland and Ireland striker Niall Quinn, now the club's chairman, was delighted with the Stadium of Light's inclusion in the FA's bid to bring the world's biggest sporting event to England for the first time since 1966. He saluted Sunderland's 12-month campaign, saying: "I am absolutely thrilled. As soon as we were aware that England was considering a bid to host the 2018/22 FIFA World Cup we knew we wanted to be part of something that could showcase our club, our city and the region on a scale bigger than anything we've ever known.
"Of course there's still a lot of hard work to be done to bring the World Cup to England and our focus in the coming weeks and months will shift to doing everything we can to help the FA in their campaign. Now is the time for the whole country to come together, back the bid and play their part."
In addition to Carlisle United, Sunderland's other potential World Cup training venues are Middlesbrough FC, Darlington FC, Hartlepool United FC and Durham County Cricket Club.
