The tournaments may be a long way off, but for those who need to know where the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups will be staged, the news is scheduled to break tomorrow Dec. 2 at 10:13 a.m. (ET) and 10:28 a.m., respectively.
Despite cries about corruption, vote swapping and perhaps postponing the call, FIFA, soccer's governing body from its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, will for the first time announce two host nations for its famed tourney on one day.
England, Russia, Spain-Portugal and Belgium-Netherlands are bidding to hold the 2018 tourney, while the United States is competing against Qatar, Australia, South Korea and Japan for the event that will be staged four years later.
ESPN, via SportsCenter, Spanish-language network ESPN Deportes and broadband service ESPN3.com, Univision and Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Deportes will cover the proceedings.
FSC will begin its coverage on Dec. 2 at 9:30 a.m., withDecision Day 2022: A Fox Soccer Report Special. The special will be preceded by a 30-minute preview show, D-Day Minus 1, on Dec. 1 at 9 p.m., an examination of all of the nations in contention to host the famed FIFA tourney in 2018 and 2022, followed at 9:30 p.m. by Team USA: Journey to Glory, a look at Sam's Army, past, present and future.
All three media outlets have members on the US Bid Committee -- Fox Sports Media Group chairman and CEO David Hill; Univision Communications CEO Joe Uva; and ESPN executive vice president of content John Skipper.
David Downs, who was president of Univision Sports from 2001-09 and previously worked at ABC Sports, serves as executive director of the US Bid Committee. In both of his prior gigs, he negotiated U.S. TV rights deals for the World Cup.
The U.S. hosted the 1994 World Cup, which led to the formation of the domestic circuit, Major League Soccer in 1996.
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