Posted at 9:47 a.m., Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Soccer: Lone bidder Brazil to host 2014 World Cup
By Erica Bulman
Associated Press
Brazil was the only candidate and won in a unanimous vote today by the executive committee of the sport's governing body.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Brazil now has "not only the right, but the responsibility" to organize the 2014 tournament. Blatter then handed the World Cup trophy to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who flew in for the announcement.
"Soccer is not only a sport for us," Lula said. "It's more than that: Soccer for us is a passion, a national passion."
He promised the Brazil "will now with great pride do its homework." And, he added, "if everything works out well, we will win once again a World Cup."
