This Day in History: 2023-03-08

Nr. 420

FIFA PLANS FOR THE FUTURE (1966)

The top administrators of world soccer sat around a table to decide the future of the World Cup for the next 16 years. The main item on the agenda of the FIFA Congress was to pick venues for the 1970, 1974, 1978 and 1982 competitions. With the sport becoming more global dozens of countries had expressed an interest in staging a World Cup tournament, but were to be disappointed. In an era prior to mass air travel, FIFA decided to continue alternating between the continents with strong soccer power bases – Europe and South America. Mexico was picked for 1970, West Germany for 1974, Argentina for 1978 and Spain for 1982.

FIFA’s long-term plan ensured that the World Cup would not become an event always held in Europe but one which would reflect its global reach.