Japan to give up Club World Cup

Japan Football Association president Junji Ogura says his country will not bid to host the 2013 or 2014 Club World Cup.

Ogura said the JFA wanted to increase its chances of holding bigger events, including the Women’s World Cup.

The 2011 Club World Cup is currently being staged in Japan, where the tournament was played from 2005 to 2008, before it moved to the United Arab Emirates for the past two years.

Ogura told Kyodo News that Japan, which is already scheduled to host the 2012 event, would not be bidding to host the Club World Cup in 2013 or 2014 to help it secure bigger tournaments.

“If we do it every time, it becomes difficult to host other competitions,” Ogura said.

“If we want the likes of the Under-20 World Cup and the Women’s World Cup to come to Japan, it’s probably not in our best interests to host (the Club World Cup) every year.”