World Cup 2018: England bid wheels out big guns

By Blackleaf
December 01, 2010
David Beckham
David Beckham -Eva-news
Tomorrow FIFA announces who it is who will host the 2018 World Cup.

The three front-runners on the final full day of bidding are England, Russia and the joint bid front Spain and Portugal.

And England have decided to bring out its three big guns to finally destroy the opposition.

Prince William, who is the President of the English Football Association, David Cameron, who is turning into a very good Prime Minister, and David Beckham, the world's most famous footballer, were all in the Swiss city of Zurich yesterday (William and Beckham are still there but Cameron had to fly home for today's Prime Minister's Questions) to do all the campaigning they can to bring the World Cup to England in 2018 for the first time in 52 years.

Becks today declared he wasn't worried about bids from other nations and said he would keep fighting until the whistle blows.

There are many who now fear for England's bid - which has undeniably been the best - after the BBC's Panorama programme earlier this week accused members of FIFA of corruption.

However, Panorama is only telling the truth (and may be the BBC's way of getting revenge at an organisation known for its anti-Englishness over the years), as football's world governing body IS a very corrupt organisation, and England mustn't feel too ashamed if they lose the bid just because they had the audacity to bring to light several examples of FIFA corruption (see Oliver Holt, below).

To try and repair any damage that the Panorama documentary may have caused to the England bid, Prince William this morning met with one of the men the programme accused of being corrupt.

William had breakfast with FIFA's Paraguayan member Nicolas Leoz as England looked to keep the momentum going for their bid. Mr Leoz was one of three FIFA members accused in the programme of taking bribes in the 1990s.

Mr Cameron today said the country would host "an absolutely first-class World Cup" if the bid to host the 2018 tournament is successful.

During Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, he said: "This morning I returned from Zurich where I have been meeting with decision-makers, aiming to convince them of what a brilliant World Cup England could host in 2018.

"I do think that England 2018 has got a very, very strong bid if you look at the technical aspects.

England's bid was given a boost today when Russia's PM Vladimir Putin announced he would not be flying to Zurich when the winning bid is announced tomorrow afternoon. Putin has said he would only turn up if he thought Russia would win the bid.

The 2018 World Cup will come just six years after London hosts the 2012 Summer Olympics, making England this decade's sporting capital should it win the bid.

It is the second time in recent years that England has bid to host the World Cup. It bid to host the 2006 tournament but the German bid won.


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