NOTTINGHAM'S World Cup hopes were shattered when Fifa announced yesterday the tournament will be hosted by Russia in 2018.

Faces fell among Nottingham's World Cup team, who were watching the live announcement from Zurich at the City Ground, as England went out in the first round.

Nottingham's World Cup bid director Hugh White said: "At the end of the day you can do the technical side, you can do the commercial side. England, without a doubt, had the best of those and then it's about people – we couldn't have done any more over the last 73 hours.

"People in England, and certainly Nottingham, can hold their heads high in knowing no stone was left unturned.

"I'm disappointed for the people of Nottingham who've worked so hard to put Nottingham and England in such a good position."

But Fifa's decision yesterday has also shattered Nottingham Forest's hopes of moving into a new stadium.

The Nottingham Post can reveal that Notts County had also shown interest in leaving Meadow Lane and sharing the new ground with Forest.

But both teams are now set to stay put.

Forest's chief executive Mark Arthur said: "We were looking at a number of sites, one of which was Eastcroft. Now the decision has gone against us, that will be shelved until it's decided there needs to be a new stadium."

He said Forest have no desire to leave the City Ground at the moment.

But he added: "Hopefully the World Cup will return to this country and we need to make sure Nottingham is in a good position for that."

It is also a blow for women's football in England. The new stadium was to be the "Wembley for Women", hosting national and international women's games.

Lisa Dawkins, manager of Nottingham Forest Ladies FC said: "It's a disappointing day I think for football across the city as well as women's football."

George Cowcher, chief executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "It's a huge blow locally, as should Nottingham have been granted host city status, it would have unlocked potential economic benefits in excess of £130m, created hundreds – if not thousands – of jobs across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire."

However, the Post can reveal that there was a big risk that Nottingham would not have the money in time to build a World Cup stadium.

A draft study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, commissioned by the city council, says there was a "major funding gap" in building a new stadium at Eastcroft.

Nottingham City Council was planning to use the sale of land at Gamston and Tollerton to part-fund the scheme, but there were concerns Rushcliffe Borough Council would not grant planning permission to build on the land in time for the World Cup. This planning permission would increase the land value.

The stadium could have also been funded by the sale and redevelopment of the City Ground – as well as Meadow Lane if the two clubs shared the new stadium.

But, Councillor Jon Collins, leader of Nottingham City Council, said the council would have worked hard to find a funding package if England had been successful.

Despite the World Cup dream being over for Nottingham, a major housing development could still be built in Gamston and Tollerton.

Coun Collins said: "We're facing very significant budget cuts, it's really important we look at all our assets and make sure we are making the most of them. We've had our capital budget cut by half, we need to be looking at how we make that up and selling land is part of what we're looking to do."

He said it was not an "immediate priority" to sell the city council's land in the Gamston area.

But he added: "Of course house builders are keen to develop in that area. We're under an obligation to make the most of our assets."

However, Diane Kidger, the chairman of Holme Pierrepont and Gamston Parish Council, said it was disappointing that the greenbelt could still be developed.

She added: "Perhaps not getting the bid would have taken off the pressure for the new houses but obviously it hasn't.

"They're now realising they've got to sell the family silver to support the budget cuts. I thought we might get a little bit of respite."

She said there are many infrastructure problems that would need to be addressed if more houses are built.