The organizers of the joint Belgian/Dutch bid chasing the rights to host the 2018 World Cup have issued a
statement dismissing concerns voiced by politicians in the two countries over tax privileges given to FIFA.
The statement said that "the current international tax law will be respected" and that as so much of FIFA’s
revenue comes from TV and advertising deals done in Switzerland, the world body’s home, neither country
would lose any tax revenue. Instead, a World Cup in the Low Countries could provide economic gains of €1.5 billion. "The guarantees that FIFA have asked are not unreasonable or illogical," said the statement. "They have the rights of the largest sporting event in the world and want to protect it. And of course they want to give exclusive rights to their sponsors."