U.S. Soccer Federation president and USA Bid Committee chairman Sunil Gulati lays out the case for the United States, casting into the shadows Australia's bid for the right to host the 2022 World Cup (Gulati concedes the 2018 World Cup is likely headed to Europe).

"The United States has a $14 trillion GDP with 18 stadiums that have a capacity of five million seats [over 64 games]," Gulati said. "None of our rivals will have that. We have lots of experience hosting events, a very large population, including a very large immigrant population, with virtually guaranteed sell-outs for all 64 games and the opportunity to leave a legacy that would truly make a very large country integral and central to the sport."
 
While Australia's various sports are fighting over stadium commitments and state and federal governments are clashing over the cost of infrastructure upgrades, Gulati says the U.S. bid requires no public funding. "We are not asking the U.S. government or state authorities to spend billions of dollars to build facilities," Gulati said. "Given the world economic climate, that is difficult to do."