Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Colombia, which has beaten Brazil twice in 22 soccer matches, plans to take on its larger neighbor for the right to host the World Cup in 2014.

The Colombian soccer federation sent a letter to ruling body FIFA before yesterday's deadline, spokesman Armando Castillo said by telephone from Bogota today. The Zurich-based Federation Internationale de Football Association later confirmed Colombia's interest in staging the event in an e-mail, adding that no other nations were in the running.

The bid opens the way for a two-nation contest to hold soccer's biggest tournament, which FIFA earmarked for South America in 2014 as it rotates the event around the world. The winner will be announced by November 2007. Colombia, with a population of 41 million, would be the smallest country since Spain in 1982 to stage a tournament that now has a cumulative television audience of more than 30 billion.

Colombia's chances are ``minimal,'' national federation president Luis Bedoya told reporters, according to today's El Tiempo newspaper.

Brazil formally announced its plans to bid Dec. 13, saying it had the backing of all the South American federations. The record five-time champion -- whose former World Cup winners include Pele, Garrincha and Romario -- hasn't hosted the tournament since 1950.

Mexico '86

Colombia was scheduled to hold the 1986 World Cup but the government couldn't afford the cost of upgrading its facilities. Mexico held the showpiece instead.

The Colombian federation pledged in March to support Brazil's 2014 bid before withdrawing the backing when Colombia President Alvaro Uribe said in July he wanted to host the tournament, El Heraldo newspaper reported.

While producing players including Carlos Valderrama and Faustino Asprilla, Colombian soccer has been tarnished by crime.

In 1994, Colombia defender Andres Escobar was shot dead after returning home to Medellin, having scored an own goal against the U.S. at the World Cup. Colombia was almost stripped of holding the 2001 Copa America, South America's national-team competition, after a spate of car bombings.

``Things have changed a lot in Colombia and we want to compete to be World Cup host,'' Bedoya said.

Economic Growth

President Uribe cut crime by expanding the armed forces 30 percent since his 2002 election, helping to fuel an economy that's growing at its fastest pace in a decade. He was elected to a second term in May.

The last tournament in South America was in Argentina in 1978. The 2010 World Cup will be in South Africa, the first time in that continent.

Both countries may face challenges building or developing their stadiums to meet FIFA's requirements.

Brazil, which staged the 1950 final at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana arena, needs 12 new venues, according to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Only two soccer stadiums in Colombia hold more than 40,000 people, including the 20-year-old Estadio Metropolitano in Barranquilla that hosts national-team games.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Duff in Madrid at at aduff4@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 19, 2006 12:47 EST