Sunderland 2018 Host City Bid

Students from around the globe have given their support to the Sunderland 2018 host city bid on arriving to study at Sunderland University for the new term. Students and staff backed the bid in special signing books throughout freshers’ week to send the message to the England bid team that Sunderland would be a fantastic location to host World Cup football. In total, 10,000 students currently study at Sunderland University, including 2,000 international students from more than 70 countries.

Students from a variety of locations, including Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia, have backed Sunderland as an ideal location to host World Cup matches, and many have highlighted the city’s reputation as a place that knows how to give its visitors a warm welcome.

Yvonne Yapp, 19, who is from Malaysia and studying Pharmacy at Sunderland University, said:

I love Sunderland. It’s so peaceful and the people are so warm and friendly.

The city has everything you need. I think Malaysian people would really love the opportunity to see their national team play in Sunderland. Malaysians really love England, and I’m sure they’ll love Sunderland.

Bucky Mustafa, 22, from Nigeria, added:

Football is a big sport in Nigeria. I’m sure people would really enjoy visiting Sunderland.

Pharmacy student Anas Abusamakha, from Jordan, thinks his fellow Jordanians would love a trip to the Stadium of Light – despite the fact that he is a Manchester United fan:

I think it would be a really good thing if the World Cup came to Sunderland. Football is very, very popular in Jordan, and I think my fellow countrymen would get a real taste of English life here. Everyone is so welcoming; it didn’t take long for me to settle into the city.

Sunderland has been welcoming visitors from around the world for hundreds of years and the city now has a track record of staging many successful major events. During the 1966 World Cup in England, Sunderland played host to teams and fans from the former Soviet Union, Hungary, Italy and Chile. In recent years, the Sunderland Air Show, first held in 1989, has become renowned for regularly attracting more than a million visitors in a single weekend. And only a few months ago, the Stadium of Light hosted two of the UK’s biggest musical acts when Take That and Oasis played at a series of sell out concerts.

To back the bid by SMS message, people can text “Sunderland2018” followed by their name, house number and postcode, all to 62299. Texts are charged at the standard network rate and the service is now live. People can also still register their support with the FA online through www.sunderland2018-2022.com.