Tampa Bay area leaders aim to impress World Cup soccer officials

TAMPA — Local officials won't get to host FIFA representatives when they visit communities next week that are part of the United States' bid for either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

But the officials still aim to impress.

They have produced a two-minute video that shows the passion for the sport here, a video that will be downloaded along with those from 17 other proposed cities that FIFA representatives will receive when they arrive in the U.S. for a three-day whirlwind inspection.

"It shows the destination as well as the enthusiasm in the community for the game of soccer," said Dianne Jacob, the senior vice president of marketing for Tampa Bay & Company. "And that we have the fever."

The video shows iconic images of Tampa, including Busch Gardens and the University of Tampa minarets, the downtown skyline and Raymond James Stadium. But you also see kids playing soccer at the beach and a youngster dribbling a ball down a cobbled street in historic Ybor City.

And all the while, you see folks — young and old and of various ethnicities — huddled around televisions and radios as the U.S.-England World Cup match from this summer is going on.

Jacob and six others from the area — including Chuck Sykes, the president of Sykes Enterprises, and former Tampa Bay Rowdie Farrukh Quraishi — will have the opportunity to schmooze with FIFA representatives Monday evening at a reception for prospective U.S. host cities.

FIFA will visit facilities in New Jersey (the new Meadowlands Stadium), Washington, D.C. (FedEx Field), Miami (Sun Life Stadium), Dallas (the new Cowboys Stadium) and Houston (Reliant Stadium). The tour also includes training sites in some of those communities and some possible sites for fan fests and the international broadcasting center.

"There's no particular magic to which stadium we are seeing except the marrying of logistics (the group is coming from Europe and departing for Europe) and timing," said David Downs, the executive director of the U.S. bid committee. "We would have loved to include Tampa. It certainly is on the way from Miami to Dallas-Houston. But we are in three cities on Wednesday already, so it just wasn't feasible."

FIFA is expected to announce Dec. 2 the host nation for soccer's extravaganza in 2018 and 2022. If the U.S. is selected, it would pare the list of cities to a final 12 to 14 five years before the tournament.

The economic impact for each city is projected at $400 million.