Former Dutch football player Ruud Gullit will be heading the organisation bidding to bring the Football World Cup to the Netherlands and Belgium.

The HollandBelgium Bid, as the organisation is appropriately named, would like to bring either the 2018 or the 2022 World Cup to the Low Countries. They indicated that both Gullit’s intimate knowledge of football and his international appeal were reasons for making him their president.

The former PSV, Feyenoord, AC Milan and Chelsea player will be leading delegations that will campaign for the bid and will be involved with the strategy of the candidature.

Furthermore, six new names were added to the list of the organisation’s ambassadors: former internationals Johan Cruijff, Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp, Eric Gerits and Michel Preud'homme and Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

The addition of Johan Cruijff to the list of ambassadors is remarkable since the Dutch football icon explicitly refused the role of ambassador last year.
 

(c) Radio Netherlands Worldwide