Sunderland 2018 Host City Bid

News of Sunderland’s bid to be a host city for the 2018 World Cup has rapidly spread around the globe. The campaign website, www.sunderland2018-2022.com has already attracted visitors from a staggering 68 countries and it has only been live for 10 days. Thousands of people from North East England, the rest of the United Kingdom and from around the world have registered their support for Sunderland’s bid through the website.

Leading the international support are web browsers from the United States, followed by people from Australia, Germany, Ireland, Norway, France, Canada, Switzerland and the Netherlands.Within a few days, thousands of votes of support had been registered for the Sunderland 2018 bid, through a link to the FA website on www.sunderland2018-2022.com.

While the backing from Ireland can partly be put down to the strong links between the country and Sunderland AFC, the wide range of countries from which support has been offered has delighted the team behind the campaign to bring World Cup football to the city and North East England. Sunderland’s bid was launched at the Stadium of Light last week, using the message “Let’s welcome the world”, and it appears that the world has already responded with great enthusiasm.

Lesley Callaghan, marketing and commercial director, Sunderland AFC said:

We’re delighted with the initial response to the campaign. If the volume of traffic to the website is a sign of what’s to follow, then we are going to generate huge levels of support from around the world

Councillor Paul Watson, Leader, Sunderland City Council added:

“I’m sure that there are quite a few Sunderland expats among those who have visited www.sunderland2018-2022.com but equally, the city and the football club have well established sporting and tourism links to many countries. The international reputation of Sunderland is getting better every year and I think that is reflected in this fantastic response to our campaign to bring the World Cup to the city and the region in 2018″.

For more information, call:
Louise Wanless, Media and Communications Manager, on 0871 911 1227, or email: louise.wanless@safc.com. Lee Brown, Media and Communications Officer, Sunderland City Council, on (0191) 566 1627, or email: lee.brown@sunderland.gov.uk.