By Andrew Warshaw at Wembley
November 26 – England’s World Cup bid owes it to the competing cities for 2018 to put an end to all the squabbling and backbiting that has marred the campaign in recent weeks, according to bid chief executive Andy Anson (pictured third right).
In the most significant development to date in the bid process, 20 stadiums from 15 applicant cities from Newcastle in the North-East to Plymouth in the South-West today handed in their submissions.
These will be whittled down to a minimum of 12 stadiums when a three-man panel headed by 2018 board member Lord Mawhinney makes the final selection on December 16.
Anson said the effort put in by all those hoping to stage games in 2018 made it imperative for bid leaders to show strong unity following a spate of recent setbacks, highlighted by the resignation from the board of Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards earlier this week.
“We have to draw a line, move on and draw on the positive energy,” said Anson.
“It’s time to put all the personal issues aside and look at what the cities have done.
“We’ve got something like £350 million of financial commitment in the bid books, a tremendous amount of money in the current political climate.
“It’s been an unbelievable experience in terms of energy and passion.
“We owe it to everyone to get on the front foot and unite behind the bid.
“Let’s not navel gaze any more.
“We have a fantastic story to tell that none of our competitors can match – if we get it right.”
A string of celebrity former players including Paul Gascoigne and Alan Shearer converged on Wembley to present their respective bid books and sign financial guarantees of up to £15 million per city for the right to be in the final selection.
It seemed, said Anson, that someone had turned the lights back on after weeks of negative issues.
“All the cities came along with very complex technical bids and we’ve got a job to do to narrow them down.
“This is a great platform to build on because we can come up with a fantastically credible option that no other bidding nation can compete with.”
The next big milestone is David Beckham’s appearance at the 2010 World Cup draw in Cape Town next week when the former England captain and 2018 ambassador meets the 24 voting members of the FIFA Executive Committee.
FIFA will name the 2018 World Cup host in December next year and Anson said: “The bid is going to be a roller-coaster.
“I am not expecting everything to be rosy in the next 12 months but it would be nice if it was better than the last couple of weeks.”
Paul Elliott, like Anson a member one of the newly streamlined seven-man board, threw his weight behind under-fire bid chairman Lord Triesman.
Describing Triesman as the “daddy”, Elliott said: “He’s the driver of this ship.
“We’ve all had bad days at the office.
“It’s about how you move forward, individually and collectively.”
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