World football body Fifa has written to the Netherlands and Belgium to warn the two countries not to deviate from terms and conditions which Fifa deems necessary to stage the World Cup in 2012.

RTL news has a copy of the letter which states that the two countries, who are staging a joint bid, should note that the bid book must contain the ‘minimum requirements in respect of government support necessary’ to stage the event.
The six page letter, from Fifa’s head of legal affairs, then outlines a number of points or clauses which it says are missing from the bid, or are not in line with Fifa’s demands.
A spokesman for the Holland Belgium bid told RTL news this sort of letter is quite normal in major contract negotiations.
Fifa is due to announce the winning bid before the end of this year.