A recent article in The Observer, with the headline ‘Go west, go south, but above all else, don't go to Sunderland’, stated that the Stadium of Light should not be put forward as a venue for the 2018 World Cup bid.

Apparently a 49,000 capacity, world-class stadium is not what the FA should be looking for when making their selection.

The FA must submit their bid to FIFA at the end of 2010, which will include a minimum of eight selected stadiums and usually a maximum of 12 -- although England could choose more and let FIFA decide the best ones.

The Observer wants the FA to ‘look beyond the obvious’ when selecting locations as the World Cup should not just be about the greatest football tournament, but also a chance for England to showcase its towns and cities.
Therefore, Observer Sport thinks the Stadium of Light, City of Manchester Stadium and Goodison Park should be disregarded, even though they all hold over 40,000 and are situated in thriving cities.

Regions that would usually be overlooked for sporting events are the North West, South West and South Coast. If the FA wants to spread the venues across the country, this will involve the likes of Preston North End, Bristol City and Southampton having to increase their capacities, which seems pointless for clubs who are not in the Premier League and do not attract large crowds.

Observer sports editor Brian Oliver believes that only one of the North East cities should host the World Cup to give other places a chance. He said: “Why not Sunderland? The main reason is that it best exemplifies the 'same old places' argument put forward by the Mayor of Bristol. The entire North East region, according to the last consensus, has a population of 2.5million. To suggest that it should have three venues, Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesborough, ‘as a matter of right’ is ridiculously parochial. By all means have an in-house argument and, if Sunderland is deemed to be a better host city than Newcastle, hats off to the Mackems.”

This seems unfair, as Newcastle will most probably be picked above Sunderland since it has more hotels and is deemed a more tourist-friendly place. Sunderland’s tourist attractions can rival any of the cities in the south that may be picked above it. It is home to the Empire Theatre, which is the only place to see West End shows between Manchester and Edinburgh, has one of the longest beach areas of any English city and already attracts over a million visitors every year for the International Air Show.