New stadiums. Better infrastructure. A stimulus for top sport and recreational sport. And millions of tourists would come visit the Netherlands in June 2018. The promoters of the World Cup bid will also accept the accompanying increase in traffic jams and safety precautions. If their dream comes true, in nine years' time the Netherlands will spend a month in the world's spotlights. Harry Been, the project leader of the World Cup lobby with Belgium: “A tournament like this draws in total 25 billion TV viewers. I hardly dare to mention such a figure out loud.”

The cynical reactions from politicians, the business community and protest movements apparently belong to the past. Organisers have put the doomed Dutch bid for the Olympic Games in 1992, due to the unending protest demonstrations, behind them. Been: “We finally realise the importance of an experiential event.” Deputy sports minister Jet Bussemaker has stressed that a major sporting event “must have added value for tourism, innovation, sustainability, economic growth and international trade”.

FIFA reassures Belgium, Dutch on World Cup bid FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Monday reassured Belgium and the Netherlands that their joint World Cup bid was valid despite his preference for single-nation bids. Blatter was unhappy about the World Cup in Japan and South Korea in 2002 because, he said, it effectively resulted in two World Cups, with two organising committees, two languages, two currencies and double the cost. "This is totally different," Blatter said of the Belgian-Dutch bid during a visit to meet the organising committee in Brussels. Australia, England, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, the United States and Spain/Portugal have also submitted bids as candidates for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. (Photo AP)

The Netherlands and Belgium gained experience in the joint organisation of Euro 2000. At that time it was unique: two countries organising a major football tournament like that. Been: “When I knocked on the door of the ministry of economic affairs for Euro 2000, they said they would rather invest money in the Van Gogh Museum. A football tournament like that would only cause a mess. These days we are received there with respect,” the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) representative recounted. He mentioned the World Cup in Germany in 2006 as a good example of community spirit through sports. “Masses of Germans displayed their national flag from their homes and cars for the first time since the war.”

To support the joint plans the Dutch government has made 4.5 million euros available. The Belgian government has promised to contribute the same amount. But can two small countries properly organise such a large tournament? Bussemaker thinks so and even sees some benefits. “In South Africa next year, you have to get on a plane to travel from one stadium to the next. In our case, you could be camping in Tilburg and visit two matches a day."

In Amsterdam there are already plans to temporarily add an extra ring to the 1928 Olympic Stadium just for the World Cup, and the capital also has the Ajax stadium the Arena on offer. There are three options on the drawing board to increase the current number of 50,000 seats to a maximum of 85,000 there. For the most important games - the opening match and the final - Rotterdam is also a contender. It has advanced plans for a new stadium with 80,000 seats close to the old Kuip, the home base of Feyenoord. The PSV stadium in Eindhoven, meanwhile, will also be expanded.

Been from the KNVB perceives more interest in the World Cup than in the Olympic Games in 2028, for which the Netherlands has also submitted a bid. He immediately added that he warmly supports his fellow lobbyists from the sport association NOC*NSF. “We could help them along. The one lobby strengthens the other,” Been said. Bussemaker does not envisage conflicts of interest. “Each step must mean something, must help improve the top sport and recreational sport climate in the Netherlands, even if we do not win both bids.”