MOVEMENTS FOR 2002 WORLD CUP IN 1996

Venues for 2002 in Japan
10 Japanese cities to hold the year 2002 soccer games were chosen on Dec.25. They are the following cities. Sapporo, Miyagi, Ibaragi, Yokohama, Saitama, Shizuoka, Niigata, Kobe, Osaka, and Oita was chosen instead of Hiroshima. Hiroshima, was dropped because they missed a roof in their stadium, Big Arch. Initially, 15 cities were supposed to host at least one game. The venues have been decreased because South Korea will host half of the 2002 games.

Final match in Japan
FIFA announced in Zurich on Nov. 6 that the opening game and ceremony for the 2002 World Cup will be held in S. Korea, while Japan will host the final match and closing ceremony. A disappointment to the Japan side was that it seems unlikely that all 15 Japanese cities preparing for the World Cup will be able to host a match.

Host of 2002 declared
Soccer's world governing body, FIFA announced on May 31 that the host of the year 2002 World Cup will not be "a country", but both South Korea and Japan. FIFA has broken the one-country host rule. Both countries are shocked at this unprecedented decision. The question now is who is going to take the initiative in running the world's most popular sporting event.


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