San Diego is officially vying to become one of about a dozen U.S. cities to host the World Cup should this nation be selected for the 2018 or 2022 soccer tournament.

On Nov. 17, the City Council approved an agreement to submit an application to the U.S. Bid Committee to host from four to six matches, likely at Qualcomm Stadium. The vote was 6-2 with Councilwomen Donna Frye and Marti Emerald opposed.

The officials said the city has no plan to address the possible costs of $12 million to $15 million the city may incur for the event, including increased security.

Earlier this week, Mayor Jerry Sanders advocated that San Diego become a host city for a future World Cup. The Bid Committee is developing a list of potential host cities from a list of 27 cities that were qualified, including San Diego.

The world governing body for soccer, FIFA, will decide on the host nations for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup in December 2010.

Next year’s World Cup is set for South Africa, and in 2014 it will be held in Brazil. The 1994 World Cup was held in this country, but San Diego was not a host city then.

Other nations vying for future World Cup games are England, Russia, a combined Spain-Portugal, a combined Belgium-Netherlands, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Qatar and South Korea.

According to a report from the U.S. Bid Committee, the 2006 World Cup held in Germany had an overall economic impact of $6.2 billion over three years. The event drew some 2 million tourists to Germany, who spent about $766 million, the report said.

— Mike Allen