China Undecided On Which World Cup It Will Bid To Host, FIFA Exec Says

Newly-elected FIFA Council member Zhang Jian confirmed that China intends to bid for a World Cup but said that "there had been no decision made" as to which edition of the event the country would seek to host, according to Michael Church of REUTERS. Zhang said that China "would not rush into a bid and would do so only when conditions were right." He said, "Sooner or later we will bid for the World Cup, because it is written in the General Development Plan of Chinese Football. However, which edition we apply for will be determined by lots of factors, and it will be a national project. It is not only the Chinese Football Association's decision to make." China's "growing influence in the sport extended to Zhang's appointment to the FIFA Council last week," when he was one of four new members elected at the Asian Football Confederation's congress in Bahrain (REUTERS, 5/19).