TWO major North-East football clubs could be in the bidding to stage World Cup matches should the tournament return to these shores in either 2018 or 2022.

But it may come down to a shoot-out, renewing traditional Tyne-Wear football rivalries, depending on the number of stadia required.

Newcastle's St James' Park and Sunderland's Stadium of Light are among the expected contenders for stadia to host matches should England's bid prove successful.

Representatives of both Newcastle and Sunderland were among 15 cities attending today's launch hosted by BBC's Adrian Chiles, backed by England greats of past and present, including David Beckham, Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Geoff Hurst, at Wembley today.

A 40-minute presentation set out England's case, with the quality of existing stadia a major selling point feature of the bid.

Nine countries are bidding to host the tournament in either 2018 or 2022 with two more nations expected to focus solely on 2022.

Football's world governing body, Fifa, will make the decision at the end of the year.

Spain and Russia are expected to be England's main rivals in Europe, with USA and Australia other strong contenders.

The NewcastleGateshead, the marketing initiative promoting the twin Tyneside boroughs, today announced it is backing the bid to provide a venue for matches in the world's most prestigious tournament.

Newcastle missed out when England previously staged the competition, in 1966, as Sunderland's former ground at Roker Park and Middlesbrough's old Ayresome Park, were selected, hosting games featuring Italy, the Soviet Union, Chile, Hungary and minnows North Korea.

The 'NewcastleGateshead Candidate Host City' bid, developed in partnership with Newcastle City Council, Gateshead Council and Newcastle United FC, said hosting matches in the tournament could project images of Tyneside to a global audience of 24-billion tv viewers in 240 countries, while attracting many foreign fans and tourists to the region.

City council leader, John Shipley, said: "An event of this scale would have a major positive economic impact on the 'twin cities', not only in the lead up to and during the event but for many years to come.

"It would give NewcastleGateshead an international showcase, giving a significant boost to leisure and business tourism from around the world, and will act as a catalyst to help accelerate many ambitious regeneration projects planned."

Gateshead Council leader, Mick Henry, said: "The global media coverage would be a major boost to positioning NewcastleGateshead as a vibrant city break destination.

"We're fully supporting Newcastle's bid and will be working very closely to help bring the event to the North-East."

A team of what is dubbed, "high-level champions" from across the North-East are being recruited to boost and endorse NewcastleGateshead's bid among businesses and through the media.

But Sunderland is expected to put an equally good case, with the city council and Sunderland AFC jointly bidding to stage matches.

Representatives from both the club and council were at Wembley for today's announcement and attended a planning workshop on the bid process.

The delegation included club chief executive Steve Walton, plus marketing and commercial director Lesley Callaghan, council leader, Paul Watson, and the authority's community and cultural services director, Paul Dobson, and its head of culture and tourism, Chris Alexander.

Councillor Watson said: "It's a very exciting proposition for everybody in Sunderland and being part of this FA bid is a testament to the first-class facilities the city and region already offers to fans and visitors.

"Being a host city would further raise Sunderland's international profile as fans and media flock to the games, whilst their spending power would be a big boost to shops and businesses.

"The Stadium of Light is a world-class venue, which, as well as seeing top flight English games has already hosted international football."

Ms Callaghan said: "The possibility of the 2018 World Cup taking place in England is something that will excite football fans across the country and Sunderland AFC wants to play a central role in this."

Only Wembley, Manchester United's Old Trafford ground and Arsenal's Emirates Stadium are bigger than St James' Park, which has a 52,000-plus capacity and the Stadium of Light, with 49,000.