European countries will be able to bid for the 2026 World Cup following a decision by world soccer's governing body FIFA on Saturday.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said the executive committee had agreed that all continents could bid to host the event except for Asia, where Qatar will host the 2022 tournament.

Blatter had said earlier this month he wanted to implement a form of rotation, under which a continent which hosted the World Cup could not bid for the subsequent two tournaments.

That would have ruled out a European bid in 2026 and, in doing so, favoured the US which is expecting to bid.

FIFA said in a subsequent statement: "With regard to the bidding process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the executive confirmed that, in accordance with the Fifa Statutes, member associations from the Asian Football Confederation would not be able to bid."-Reuters