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No World Cup for Seattle and U.S. in 2022

Seattle will not be hosting World Cup matches in 2022.  The United States was up against four other countries to host the World Cup. But the bid has gone to the Middle Eastern country Qatar.  

If the U.S. had won the bid, Seattle was among 18 cities that would have hosted games. 

Russia was named as host for the 2018 World Cup by FIFA, the governing world football (soccer) body.

NPR.org reports:

Russia was chosen over England and joint bids by Spain-Portugal and Netherlands-Belgium. Qatar was competing with the U.S., Australia, Japan and South Korea.

The next scheduled World Cup will be held in Brazil in 2014. South Africa hosted the premier event earlier this year. 

Local fans were clinging to hopes of a successful U.S. bid. Seattle has emerged as one of the most popular soccer cities in the nation.  The Sounders have set Major League Soccer records for attendance and season ticket sales.

Keith Seinfeld is a former KNKX/KPLU reporter who covered health, science and the environment over his 17 years with the station. He also served as assistant news director. Prior to KLPU, he was a staff reporter at The Seattle Times and The News Tribune in Tacoma and a freelance writer-producer. His work has been honored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Knight Science Journalism Fellowships at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Kirsten Kendrick hosts Morning Edition on KNKX and the sports interview series "Going Deep," talking with folks tied to sports in our region about what drives them — as professionals and people.