The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups is currently underway. These will be the 21st and 22nd editions of the FIFA World Cup. The bidding procedure to host both the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup began in January 2009, and national associations had until February 2, 2009 to register their interest.

The executive committee of FIFA will announce their decision on the two editions in December 2010. Candidates have applied for either or both of the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, but the 2022 hosts will not be chosen from the same continent as the 2018 hosts. Nine individual nations registered their intention to bid with FIFA by the February 2009 deadline: Australia, England, Indonesia, Japan, Qatar, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, and the United States.

Additionally Belgium and the Netherlands registered to bid together, as have Portugal and Spain. FIFA confirmed the list of bidders in March, with South Korea and Qatar bidding for 2022 only. It had been widely reported that Egypt had registered an intention to bid, it was indeed alluded to on the FIFA website, but the president of the Egyptian Football Association denied that any more than an enquiry in principle had been made.

In October 2007, FIFA ended the continental rotation policy. Instead the last two tournament host confederations are ineligible, leaving Africa ineligible for 2018 and South America ineligible for both 2018 and 2022. Other factors in the selection process include the number of suitable stadia, and their location across candidate nations.

Due to the number of bids received by FIFA, this World Cup is expected to be the most hotly contested bid ever, mainly due to the revision in FIFA's rotation policy. As a result, Sepp Blatter has said that FIFA may follow the International Olympic Committee and have a preliminary elimination of bids some time before the final ceremony.

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