2006 FIFA World Cup

The 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany will be played in twelve stadiums. This decision was taken in Frankfurt/Main, headquarters of the German Organising Committee (OC), and announced in a ceremonial act at "Alte Oper" in Frankfurt.

The twelve venues of the 2006 World Cup are Berlin, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Hannover, Kaiserslautern, Cologne, Leipzig, Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart.

24 cities had originally bid to host World Cup matches. By the deadline on December 15, 2001, 16 cities had submitted their official bids. Leverkusen withdrew its bid on April 10, 2002, however. The up-to-date Bay Arena can only seat 22,500 spectators and thus did not meet the minimum capacity of 40,000 required by FIFA. In addition to the stadia chosen to host World Cup matches, Bremen, Dusseldorf and Moenchengladbach had also been candidates. DFB President Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder and OC Vice President Horst R. Schmidt both agreed: "It was just nuances which were finally decisive. But we would like to play international matches in the stadia in Bremen, Duesseldorf and Moenchengladbach and thus extend a hand."

The location of the International Media Centre, IMC, will be Munich. Berlin, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt and Leipzig were also candidates for hosting the IMC and will not be overlooked in the future: "We are planning to hold the draw for the World Cup qualifying groups in Frankfurt in December 2003, while Leipzig should host the draw for the finals in December 2005. And Berlin will have a special press centre in 2006, particularly as FIFA will have their local World Cup headquarters in Berlin."

Representatives of FIFA, the OC Supervisory Board led by DFB President Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, and the OC Executive deliberated together about the allocation of venues. On Sunday, the proposals of the OC had been submitted to the Executive of the German Football Association, DFB.

The decisions about the venues of the opening match, the final and the semi-finals as well as about the general playing schedule will be taken at a later time (probably in 2004).

Approximately 350 guests attended the event at "Alte Oper" shown live on German TV, on the Internet and on a four-by-three-metre large video screen on the square in front of the Old Opera. Among them were Otto Schily, Minister of the Interior of the Federal Republic of Germany; Joseph S. Blatter, President of the International Football Association FIFA; Julio H. Grondona, member of the World Cup Organising Commission and Vice President of FIFA; Michel Zen-Ruffinen, General Secretary of FIFA; Egidius Braun, Honorary President of the German Football Association; Wolfgang Clement, Minister President of North-Rhine Westphalia; Roland Koch, Minister President of Hesse; Kurt Beck, Minister President of Rhineland Palatine; Dr. Thomas Bach, Vice President of the International Olympic Committee; and Manfred von Richthofen, President of the German Sports Federation. In addition, far more than 200 journalists from Germany and abroad were accredited, about 20 TV stations broadcast the event.

The order of the announcement of the venues was made by a chance system. Germany's record goalscorer Gerd Mueller, 1974 World Cup champion, pressed a button - and then the respective city was presented in a short video. After the presentation, the Lord Mayor of the respective city received a certificate.

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter showed himself impressed by the work of the OC Germany 2006 so far and on the occasion expressly appreciated it: "I am very pleased with the achievements and the pace within the OC Germany 2006 - it shows rhythm and enthusiasm."

Zurich, Switzerland (Sports Network) - The 12 cities that will stage the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany have been announced.

Despite the first Asian tournament already being under way, all eyes were turned towards Frankfurt/Main where German football legend and 1974 World Champion Gerd Müller, who called out the names of the cities that will host Germany’s first World Cup as a unified nation.

The venues are: Berlin, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Hannover, Kaiserslautern, Cologne, Leipzig, Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart. With Leverkusen withdrawing just days before the decision was made, the unlucky three were Bremen, Moenchengladbach and Dusseldorf.

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, other representatives of the world governing body, and the local Organizing Committee had the final say with more than 400 invited guests attended the presentation, 300 journalists and 20 TV stations reporting from the event.