Coe joins World Cup 2018 team
Lord Coe joins FA team bidding for England to host World Cup in 2018
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Wednesday, 18, Feb 2009 12:24
Seb Coe, the man who led the successful campaign to bring the Olympics to London, has joined the team bidding for England to host the 2018 World Cup.
The Football Association said Lord Coe had accepted an invitation to become a non-executive board member of its World Cup bid team.
The FA is aiming to bring the World Cup to England for the first time since 1966, the one and only time the Three Lions have won the Jules Rimet trophy.
Australia, Indonesia, Mexico and the US have all launched bids of their own, while joint bids have been levelled with Fifa from Belgium/Netherlands and Portugal/Spain.
"I look forward to playing my part in our bid for the Fifa World Cup," said Lord Coe.
"I am passionate about football so am delighted to be standing alongside many other people and football greats up and down the country in bidding for this event.
"Winning the Football World Cup would be the hat trick in a golden era for sport in the UK following the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014."
Lord Coe will continue to chair the organising committee for the London games but has been granted temporary leave from an identical role on the Fifa ethics committee.
FA chairman Lord Triesman said England's bid for the World Cup in nine years had been significantly boosted by Lord Coe's appointment.
"Lord Coe is a highly regarded international sports ambassador who is not only passionate about football but also commands great respect in the global football community," he said.
"His experiences in leading the successful London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic bid and generating a wealth of domestic and international support will be invaluable to us.
"He is also held in high esteem by the Fifa football family and this, coupled with his London 2012 success means he is a tremendous addition to the board and to the 2018 team in general."