Spain and Portugal confirm joint World Cup bid

Spain will submit a joint bid with Portugal to host the 2018 World Cup, the country's football federation has confirmed.

Given the economic benefits the world's second-biggest sporting event brings, a number of countries have expressed an interest in hosting the 2018 event, including China, Australia, Mexico and Russia.

Now, a statement from the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has announced that the joint bid will be tabled to the world governing body, Fifa, in the near future, with a decision to be made at the end of 2010, the year in which the tournament will be played in South Africa.

The statement read: "The board have finalised today the formal tender for Spain's candidature to organise the 2018 World Cup to be held jointly with Portugal."

Should the two Iberian countries get the go-ahead to stage the tournament, both economies stand to benefit significantly from a massive spike in tourist numbers and associated capital growth, with Portugal's infrastructure all-but-in place after it built ten new stadiums to host the European Championship in 2004.

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