To the World Cup at low cost

23 November 2010. This conclusion has been reached by a study conducted by the University of St.Gallen (HSG) in cooperation with Investment Consulting Associates, a specialist in location and site selection services, and Innovata, a worldwide source of airline flight schedules data.

Belgium/Netherlands ahead of England
Accessibility to, and ease of travel within, the host country or countries are among the key criteria in the vote. The accessibility index in the study of the University of St.Gallen shows that Belgium and the Netherlands come off best in this respect. The Belgian/Dutch bid scores 32.3 points on the index, closely followed by England with 30.5 points. The Spanish/Portuguese bid (10.2) and the Russian bid (1.1) lag far behind in terms of access and means of transport.

Many possibilities, low prices
Millions of football fans, as well as tens of thousands of journalists, sponsors and supporting staff will travel to the 2018 Football World Cup. Adding up all the numbers, some four million visitors would benefit from the most extensive possibilities of transport and from the, on average, the lowest prices if FIFA’s Executive Committee decides in favour of the Belgian/Dutch bid for 2018. Fans and other visitors from all over the world would therefore have the best travelling opportunities if the World Cup were to take place in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Photo: Photocase/Mr.Nico