As had been expected as this morning's announcement drew near, the United States has fallen short in its bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The event will be held in Qatar.
↵Australia, Japan and South Korea were also bidding to host the 2022 World Cup. The 2018 World Cup was awarded to Russia. England had also been in the running to host the 2018 Cup. At one time England had been considered the favorite to host the 2018 Cup.
↵Qatar will be the first Arab country to host the games when it does so in 2022.
↵Big names such as former president Bill Clinton and actor Morgan Freeman had tried to help bolster the United States' bid for the 2022 World Cup, but to no avail. The U.S. apparently tried to point out how successful the 2010 Cup had been in the U.S., and show the growth of the sport in this country. Qatar had asked the FIFA voters to take a "bold gamble" by bringing the World Cup someplace it had never been, and that apparently worked.
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