England launch World Cup bid
FA launch England's bid to host 2018 World Cup at Wembley
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Monday, 18, May 2009 10:08
The official launch of England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup has been held at Wembley Stadium today.
Presented by Match of the Day 2 host Adrian Chiles, the bid was officially unveiled to the gathered press and dignitaries from across the world including several Fifa representatives.
The presentation centred on England's strength in depth in terms of support from grassroots level all the way up to the top tier of the professional game, as well as the superior stadia and infrastructure the country offers.
Speaking about the bid, which leads with the slogan "England united, the world invited", Football Association chief Lord Triesman said he believes England "can stage a fantastic festival of football".
"Here there is a strong football heritage that runs throughout every town and city across the country," he continued.
"We in England would be truly honoured to host the World Cup and welcome the whole world."
In the audience were several members of the 1966 World Cup winning side, including the final's hat-trick hero Sir Geoff Hurst.
And two of the England team's current stars - veteran and former captain David Beckham, who is one of the bid ambassadors, and Manchester United youngster Wayne Rooney - were also in attendance.
Rooney said a tournament on home soil "would be unbelievable".
"To play in a World Cup for England is amazing, to do that in England would be something else," he added.
Beckham talked up the passion of the fans in this country, saying that their unbridled support would make for a thrilling event.
"There's no bigger support anywhere in the world," he claimed.
"Players like [Zinedine] Zidane, Ronaldo - one of the first questions they ask me is what it is like to play in England.
"They all comment on how much they love the passion our fans have."
England are bidding against countries such as Russia and Australia for the rights to host the competition in 2018.
And the bid launch notably focused on the fact that England is already fully prepared to welcome the competition to these shores, rather than having to undertake massive projects to cope with the huge influx of fans from abroad.
Preparation for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the next European Championships in 2012 in Ukraine and Poland have suffered bad publicity from some behind-schedule building work needed to upgrade public transport and the grounds themselves.
However, Lord Triesman said "world-class grounds, good transport links and excellent accommodation" are "all in place already".
Another rival bid comes from the United States, who last hosted the World Cup in 1994.
And prime minister Gordon Brown, who has so far courted a close political relationship with new American president Barack Obama, said the subject of the Fifa World Cup was something on which they are divided.
"There is one issue that myself and president Barack Obama disagree and that is that he wants America to win the bid to host the 2018 World Cup," the prime minster explained.
"However, I am proud to be part of, support and advocate our bid to host this great tournament."
"England is the home of football and we have the stadiums and infrastructure to host a fantastic competition."
Lord Triesman added that a World Cup in this country would bring about "a positive change for football in England and across the world".
"We believe it would be a truly memorable event, not only for our nation but every nation," he concluded.