Cruyff and Gullit to push for a Dutch-Belgian World Cup

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Two former world-class players with ties to Los Angeles were on the dais in the Dutch city of Eindhoven on Monday when Belgium and the Netherlands formally kicked off their bid to jointly stage the World Cup in either 2018 or 2022.

Former Los Angeles Aztec player Johan Cruyff and former Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit are to be the main ambassadors for the bid, along with swimmer Pieter van den Hoogenband and cyclist Eddy Merckx. The Dutch and the Belgians, who jointly played host to the European Championship in 2000, are among 11 bidders for the tournaments, both of which will be awarded by FIFA in December 2010. The other bidders are Australia, England, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Qatar, Russia, Spain and Portugal jointly, and the U.S.

Joint bids have not been encouraged, but the Dutch-Belgian bid was strengthened Monday with the announcement that the countries plan to build 12 stadiums especially for the World Cup at a cost of $88 million to $147 million apiece.

England is considered the favorite to stage the 2018 World Cup, with the U.S. a strong candidate for 2022.

-- Grahame L. Jones