World Cup FRANCE 98 – Press Releases

14 October 1994

10 cities for 64 matches

Ten cities have finally been chosen to host the 64 matches in the 1998 World Cup Finals. The announcement was made jointly by the Prime Minister, Mr Edouard Balladur, and the French Organising Committee, in agreement with FIFA.

The list of ten cities contains no surprises and reads as follows, by alphabetical order: Bordeaux, Lens, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, Paris, Saint-Denis (site of the Grand Stade), Saint-Etienne and Toulouse. The decision to use 10 venues instead of 9, finally prevailed, essentially to cater to the increase in the number of matches from 52 to 64, caused by the extension of the number of finalists from 24 to 32. The decision should ensure that all stadiums are filled to capacity for all matches.

Refurbishment work on all the stadiums will begin soon and will be planned to allow the host clubs to play all their matches while work is in progress. All refurbishment work is scheduled for completion by the end of 1997.