Encouraging words

Beckenbauer told Australian weekend newspaper the Sun Herald that a decision was "too far away, it's more than one year to go," but that "England could host it tomorrow because they have the stadiums, the infrastructure, the fans, everything.

"As a UEFA member, I would like to see it in Europe but it is an open race as to which country might get it … there are a lot of different countries bidding. Let's wait and see."

He added however that "it will be Europe's turn (in 2018)."

Beckenbauer, known as "der Kaiser" for his legendary playing and coaching achievements, sits on governing body FIFA's 24-member executive committee that is charged with voting on which countries host the World Cup every four years.

In December next year, the committee will decide the hosts of both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups simultaneously, with bidding countries from the winning continent for the 2018 tourney becoming ineligible for the following tournament.

The four European bids - England, Russia and two joint bids from Belgium-Netherlands and Portugal-Spain - are joined by bids from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) members Australia, Japan and Indonesia - AFC members South Korea and Qatar are bidding only for 2022 - and from Mexico and the United States, which belong to CONCACAF, the soccer body for North and Central America and the Caribbean.

The 2010 World Cup will be hosted by South Africa, while Brazil will hold the 2014 edition of the tournament.

Beckenbauer added that if the 2018 World Cup was awarded to a European country, then a country like Australia could be a strong contender for the 2022 event.

"I think they have a good chance because the World Cup's never been to Australia," he said.

"Australia's a beautiful country, a beautiful continent."

dfm/Reuters/SID
Editor: Andreas Illmer