The government has given its formal backing to the Dutch and Belgian football associations’ campaign to jointly stage the 2018 World Cup, acting sports minister Ab Klink said on Tuesday.

The world football body Fifa has said it wants official government backing for all the bids before they will be considered.
Klink said that one condition for the government’s support is that the cost of staging the event, such as security and building new stadiums, should not be passed on to the taxpayer.
The Netherlands is also considering mounting a bid to stage the 2028 Olympics.