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Menino, Kraft talk up World Cup hosting bid

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 11, 2010 12:43 PM

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff, and Sydney Lupkin, Globe Correspondent

The Boston area wants to host the World Cup again. That's the message Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and New England Revolution owner Robert Kraft sent today at a news conference at Boston City Hall.

Boston is one of 18 US cities that are part of the United States bid to host the beloved international soccer championship in 2018 or 2022.

Menino today declared "National USA Bid and World Cup Day" in the city.

The area hosted games at Foxboro Stadium in 1994, said mayor's spokesman Christopher Loh. The successor to Foxboro Stadium, Gillette Stadium, home of Kraft's New England Patriots football team and the Revolution, would be the site of the games.

Kraft is on the committee bidding to host the event. "Since 1994, America has embraced the 'other football,'" he said. "You know I'm going to lobby as much as I can."

Loh says Bostonians have until Dec. 2 to go to gousabid.com to show their passion and commitment for hosting the game. According to the website, nearly 13,000 people have already signed a petition to bring the games to Boston. People can also text "boston bid" to 22442 to show their support, Loh said.

Meanwhile, avid soccer fans are likely to be glued to their TVs today, watching the opening match of this year's World Cup, a game between South Africa and Mexico.