FIFA delegate praises SKorea’s passion for football, ends inspection tour of its WCup bid

FIFA ends inspection trip of SKorea’s WCup bid

SEOUL, South Korea — A FIFA delegation has completed its four-day inspection of the South Korean bid to host the 2022 World Cup.

The five-member team led by Chilean Football Federation president Harold Mayne-Nicholls has toured stadiums, communication facilities and a national training center in South Korea during its tour of the country.

Mayne-Nicholls told reporters in Seoul on Sunday that “I must say … the passion for the game seems to be growing everyday” in South Korea.

The FIFA delegation will now travel to Australia, which is another of the countries bidding to host the World Cup in 12 years’ time. Qatar, Japan and the United States are the others.

South Korea co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with neighbor Japan.

(This version CORRECTS to four-day inspection in first paragraph.)