In order to make the assessment as objective as possible, objective criteria were sought.

The infrastructure was assessed, among other things, in roads compared per km (in m), rail
2

per km (in m) and airports per km . For example, England has 1,619 m street per km ,
2 2 2

Colombia only 124 m (cf., Laenderdaten.info 2017). Subsequently, the number of stadiums
with a capacity exceeding 40,000 was compared. 40,000 is the actual minimum
requirement by FIFA (cf., FIFA 2017b: 26). Since Colombia wants to host the event alone, it
has corresponding disadvantages. Colombia has only five stadiums which are fulfilling the
criteria, England in comparison has eleven. But Colombia is considered a cheap country.
Cost of Living index confirms this (cf., Laenderdaten.info 2017). This benefits both players
and fans. Although the enthusiasm for football is already at a very high level in Columbia, it
is not yet comparable to that of England or Argentina. The political indicators include
aspects such as freedom of expression, political stability and the rule of law. The project
“Worldwide Governance Indicators” from the World Bank provides data for this. The
security aspect is captured using the “Global Terrorism Database” (cf., National Consortium
for the Study of Terrorism 2017). For Colombia, the risk of terrorism is considered below
average, but still higher than in other countries. Health care is compared against the results
of a scientific study that looked at 195 countries. It measured mortality rates from causes
that should not be fatal in the presence of effective medical care. Low mortality rates
represent a good national level of health-care access and quality (cf., GBD Healthcare
Access and Quality Collaborators 2017).

The analysis shows that there is a need for action in the infrastructure. Even if investments
are already being made here, more needs to be done. In stadiums, much less has to be
invested. For the final, a stadium with a capacity of 80000 is needed, for the semifinals
stadiums with 60000 capacity. That can´t be fulfilled by Colombia at the moment. But FIFA
is thinking about loosening the limits. The football enthusiasm will develop with the World
Cup and the safety and health system is at an acceptable range.

Application procedure
As of 2026, more teams will attend the FIFA World Cup than ever before. Since 1998, 32
teams are participating, but this is about to change now. A tournament with 48 teams
should make everything even more exciting, more goals, more surprise victories and more
tension.
Key principles of the reformed bidding process:

In the reformed bidding process principles come to the fore, which were last missed by
FIFA. Essentially, four basic principles are in the foreground. On the one hand,
Transparency plays an enormous role. Every step of the bidding process is open to the
public. On the other hand Commitment to human rights and sustainability is important.
FIFA is committed to sustainable actions in the light of human rights and expects this from
its candidates. In addition, almost all FIFA members are included in the determination of
the venue, the participation is in the focus. As of 2026, for the first time the members of
the FIFA Congress (211 member) have a final vote on the venue of the competition. The
fourth and final point to mention is objectivity. Therefore FIFA has developed a “Bid
Evaluation Task Force”. Infrastructural and commercial aspects should be evaluated of each
candidate. If the minimum score or minimum requirements for one of the main criteria are
not met, the candidate will be disqualified (cf., FIFA 2017b: 5).