Belgium and the Netherlands registered their intention to bid jointly in March 2009. A delegation led by the presidents of the
Belgian and
Dutch national football associations met
FIFA president Sepp Blatter on 14 November 2007, officially announcing their interest in submitting a joint bid. On 19 March 2008 the delegation also met with
UEFA President
Michel Platini to convince him that it was a serious offer under one management. Afterwards they claimed to have impressed Platini, who supports the idea of getting the world cup to Europe. However, the city council of Rotterdam gave permission in March 2009 for development of a
new stadium with a capacity of around 80,000 seats to be completed in time for the possible World Cup in 2018. Belgian
prime minister Yves Leterme met the mayor of the city of
Brussels Freddy Thielemans and
NMBS/SNCB leader to discuss plans for a new 60,000-seater
stadium in Brussels, for which there are three possibilities: the first would be to renovate and expand the current
King Baudouin Stadium, the second would be to build a new stadium on the
Heysel, and the third would be to build one on the property of the SNCB in the
municipality of
Schaerbeek. As a whole, Leterme stated that Belgium should get 4 stadia with a capacity of 40,000 together with the new 60,000-seater stadium in Brussels. and the United States in bidding for the 2018 World Cup, and in practice with FIFA's current policy of the same continent unable to win both bids, the Belgium/Netherlands bid is effectively disqualified from eligibility for the 2022 edition. ==Candidate venues==